


Drops In the Stream

by GeistAdamant



Series: The Naddan 'Verse [2]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Battlefield Flirting, Bella tells stories to the girls, Bella's brain short circuits, Cuteness overload, Dwobbits, Flowers, Gandalf makes an appearance, Intermission, King Under Shmoop Mountain, MOTHER SKILLET TO THE RESCUE!!!, Mithril, Oh Dwalin..., Other, Sassy Bofur, Some family fluff, The feels, Thorin digs his heels in, Thorin flirting through the use of flowers a bit, Thorin's Thunder Brows, Thorin-centric, Trigger Warning: depression, Trollshaws, a little bit of anxiety about the reception awaiting in Erebor, a minor detour was deemed necessary, a sanitized version of the misty mountains, a slightly over inflated desire to protect, always wanted to use that tag, and it's adorkable, and laughter - at Thorin's expense, and talk about emotions and feelings, and the different types of braids, bath time for the dwobbits, bathing in a forest river, but not without reason, but only to those he's close to, chain mail crafting styles are discussed, cuz it's the quiet ones (and their aim) you need to watch out for, cuz we all know what hobbit pipeweed is, cw: post partum depression, didn't realize that i hadn't really involved him in the series, don't make a hobbit mad, don't worry Tauriel was there so they didn't bathe in the wrong sort of river, flower messages, grown ups chat, honestly it was, huh - i think that's the entire durin line right there, i feel like Thorin would be a bit more sentimental after BOTFA, i tried to not make it sound toooo dry, lbr there's no way on god's green earth they'll tell them the truth until they're old enough, minor trigger warning for drug content, more tags to be added later, mushroom poisoning, oh thorin i'm starting to think you're an awkward majestic beast, playtime got a wee bit... messy, possibly the most difficult chapter I've written so far, skillets used as weaponry, somebody apologizes, story appropriate drug use... i guess?, story time!, talk of braids, that last one will make sense once you read the chapter, the twins are too damn cute when they're sleeping, thorin the drowned cat, treatment plan is a bit grody so fair warning guys, until he made an appearance in this chapter, when will you learn?, who'da thunk it?, writing sassy bofur was an interesting experience let me tell you, yes the skillet makes another appearance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-16
Updated: 2017-09-11
Packaged: 2018-06-08 19:57:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 33,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6871264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GeistAdamant/pseuds/GeistAdamant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Short(ish) one shots and drabbles about moments occurring on the journey to Erebor.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Battle Tested Skillet (AKA: Dwalin Continues to Suffer from Foot-in-Mouth Disease)

**Author's Note:**

> This is unbetaed right now, because my poor beta has real life things to do deal with right now and that takes precedence over beta-ing my work. It will be edited at some point in the future, but right now... do your best when reading? :D

 

They are now several days removed from the skirmish with the Ironfists and Thorin, Dwalin… the whole Company, really, are still quietly seething about such treachery and how they thought they could even accomplish their task.  Bella is attempting to put the thing behind her, to remember it, but to move on, something instilled in her by her father.  But… when one knows that dwarrow can bear grudges that last lifetimes, you tend to keep quiet about such things.

 

They had rejoined with the decoy group only two days after the skirmish.  Apparently, Fili had driven them all ragged insisting that something had gone very, very wrong and it would take more than their own ambush (or two) and a little thing like sleep to get back to his younger brother and make sure that he was alright.

 

Fili's outrage when they heard of the audacity and what had very nearly happened, was only tempered by his amazement at what Bella had done.  Though he was quick (mid-sentence, actually) to start spouting that he was not at all surprised as to how Bella had emerged victorious.  With the skillet their meals were cooked on, no less.  Bella just aimed a slap at him with a laugh, calling him just as impish as his brother.

 

The only person who outstripped Fili's outrage at missing the fight was Dwalin – Balin, Dori and Riekki had been forced to drag him off into the woods when his invectives would not only not stop, but got increasingly graphic and violent.

 

Bella just shook her head, trusting to Balin and the others to set him straight in due course.

 

They were nearing the Last Bridge, the last landmark before Rivendell itself.  Arnos estimated they had less than two weeks to go before they would be safe within the boundaries of Rivendell.

 

It was a rather pleasant evening as they made camp; a fire was quickly struck and Bella and a few others got to work on getting dinner started.

 

They are all chatting amiably enough – it's remarkable what your lives being put on the line and being in close proximity for the last month will do to raise some camaraderie.  Bella had just begun searing the vegetables that would join the rabbits Kili and some of the other hunter's had caught in the stew, smiling at some antics that Thora and Eglantine were putting on (under careful watch, of course) and when she looked up she caught Dwalin's eye.

 

The dwarf was _still_ acting like he had an enormous stink bug stuck up his arse about Bella keeping her daughter's secret.  Kili's enthusiastic retelling of what Bella had done (after he'd been allowed to come back by his brother) to the one Ironfist who had made the mistake of going after Eglantine had warranted a barely twitched eyebrow.  He'd then muttered something no doubt rude under his breath and had received one hell of a cuff upside the head from Nori.

 

Did his continued rude behavior annoy Bella?  Certainly, it did.  Well, his continued rude behavior was... Bella imagined it was rather the same way with those seashells that made pearls when that one grain of sand that kicked off the process got itself worked into the inside of said seashell.  But, Bella was on the whole a respectable, calm, even-tempered hobbit who had been raised to have exceedingly good behavior by her parents and she was not going to let a pig-headedly stubborn and more then loyal to a fault dwarf tick her off.

 

Until now.

 

Dwalin had meandered as close as he had would go to Bella and had a peek at what was going on in the frying pan and scowled at the contents as if they, too, had personally and mortally offended him.

 

And... that was it.  Bella pulled the skillet off the fire, flipped the ingredients into a spare bowl that was near by and brandished the still hot skillet in Dwalin's face.

 

"YOU!  I have had it up to bloody here with you ever since I set eyes on you again at Fortinbras' smial!  I'll wager you have got the world's biggest stick up your arse about me and what was _my_ decision and I swear on Yavanna's garden if this pretentious, childish and _incredibly_ stupid attitude does not end you'll regret being you!"

 

Dwalin opened his mouth to verbally retaliate (if the heightening color of his face was any indication) and Bella let out this noise that was part shriek of anger, part growl and swung the skillet.

 

Dwalin dodged the swing and took off with Bella on his heels, remorseless in her anger and yelling at him in broken Khuzdul and then Hobbitish.  But, of course, Dwalin has got the longer legs so he can keep ahead of Bella.  So, Bella just heaved the skillet over her head and caught Dwalin square on his right shoulder, as intended, sending the dwarf to the ground, hard.

 

"Ya missed." Dwalin grunted, ever the stubborn one as he got up, his face covered in dirt and scratches from sliding in the dirt HARD.

 

"I won the Hobbiton Conker’s Championship seven bloody years running, **_I DO NOT MISS_**.  I hit you exactly where I aimed for, you arrogant lalukh kâmnul satbu!”

 

Bella spun on her heel in a tight circle and headed off into the forest, being followed in by Oin’s amused laughter and “Ya can clean your scratches y’self, I’m no idiot’s nurse!”

 

Further venting her frustration on the poor, undeserving foliage, Bella only stopped after she accidentally beheaded some innocent flowers from a bush.

 

Bella forced herself to sit down, lean back against a tree and breathe.  In and out, in and out, in and out Bella breathed, trying to focus on more happy, pleasant things then the fracas she had just gotten herself into.

 

 _Thank Yavanna, that my parents did not live to see me behave so poorly.  Though, I certainly will not be apologizing to him.  It served the stubborn idiot right._   Bella thought to herself as she laid her hands palms down, fingers outstretched in the grass.

 

Not for the first time Bella considered the utter insanity of this whole thing.  Of moving across Middle Earth to Erebor.  Of moving to a country where she and her children the only hobbits around.  But there was more than herself to consider here.  And the girls would learn more of the other half of their heritage in Erebor than they would in the Shire.

 

 _Oh!  The girls!_  Bella suddenly remembered her children.  She sincerely hoped that someone had either covered their eyes or spirited Thora and Eglantine away while Bella had displayed some truly shocking behavior for a grown up.  Even if it _was_ justified behavior.

 

Bella sat against that tree until she felt herself again.  She just sat there, enjoying the peace and quiet that would vanish as soon as she returned to camp.

 

Bella’s ears tweaked at the sudden approach of heavy boots; a dwarrow for certain was approaching.

 

“I thought when I stomped off into the trees, I had made it clear that I wished to be left alone.” Bella calmly said.

 

“Oh, that was plain enough; but Oin thought some tea might help soothe your temper down some more.” Bella cracked open an eye and smiled a little as Balin handed her a cup of sweet smelling tea. 

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Though I must admit that seeing my brother taken so thoroughly to task not once, but twice, is rather nice.” Balin answered as he settled himself down on the ground near Bella.

 

Bella snorted as she took a sip of tea.  It was sweet, but had a tang on the back end. There was cranberry… and raspberry… and the tang had the flavor of chamomile about it.  “If he keeps this up, I probably will not miss next time.”

 

Balin chuckled as Bella took another sip of the tea.  “I can look forward to more of the same happening, in Erebor, won’t I?  Not just people like Dwalin who will be miffed I kept Thora and Eglantine a secret.  But people who will be genuinely – in their minds – ripped that Thorin married outside of the dwarrow race.  That he chose the person who took the Arkenstone – and don’t tell me that story wasn’t all over the camps.  People who think dwarrow should keep themselves to themselves and be isolationist and bugger everyone else.

 

Balin, thank Yavanna, didn’t sugarcoat it; he wasn’t cruel about it, but neither did he coddle Bella about it.

 

“There will, of course, be dwarrow who believe that Thorin is sullying the line of Durin by taking someone outside the line to bride.  There are dwarrow who will, no doubt, be out and out racist about you and the girls.  There are dwarrow who will be angry about the whole ridiculous Arkenstone business – and you did the right thing in regards to that cursed rock.  It almost brought down three generations of the Durin family in a row…” Balin paused to pull out a handkerchief and wipe his nose before continuing.  “But I say let them all be kicked down a mine shaft or thrown into the River Running.  If the conservative factions are so offended by your presence within the mountain and in the royal wing, they should’ve come when Thorin first put this whole plan into action years ago.  They should have joined us on that mad quest instead of hiding in their mountain fastness’ and waiting to see what the outcome would be.

 

“You followed us out your front door, contract and coat tails flapping like mad in the breeze and agreed to help us take back our home.  You, Bella, answered the call when none of the rest of our kin did.  You saved our worthless hides more times than I can count – the trolls, saving Thorin outside the goblin caves, saving us from the spiders, getting us out of Mirkwood and saving the king I thought I had lost by handing the Arkenstone over to his ‘enemies.’  Bard told us how you traded your share of the fortune to him in return for keeping us safe during the battle.  That is queenly behavior and then some and if any dwarf dares question your place, or why you are there in Erebor and not in chains for your ‘crimes’… well, they’ll have plenty of dwarrow willing to knock some sense into their rocks they call brains.”

 

Bella reached her hand out to Balin, her eyes shining with sudden tears and the old dwarf grasped Bella’s hand tightly.

 

“Thank you, Balin,” Bella whispered, her voice choked with the effort of not bawling right then and there.  “That is some fine praise, indeed.”

 

“Much of it I heard from Dis, just before we left.  She’s already taken the braids of a few fools who’ve dared question you in her hearing.”

 

“But… she’s never met me.”

 

“Dis will tell you herself but – you earned her respect the moment you took the Arkenstone and saved her sons from death.” Balin informed Bella.  “Now, I’ll not trouble you a moment longer with an old dwarrow’s presence and let you finish your tea in peace.”

 

Balin got up, waving off Bella’s protestations that he wasn’t a bother and headed back to camp.  Bella finished her tea, now a lukewarm temperature, and mulled on what she had been told.  The more she heard about Dis, the more she liked the dwarrowdam.


	2. The Re-Telling of the Trollshaws “Incident”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the skirmish, the Coalition and the Company are travelling along when they realize they are quite near the Trollshaws and Bella weaves a tale for her children about what went on in that little clearing while most of the dwarrow do what dwarrow do when it comes to treasure. And shiny things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went over this before I posted it, and tried to catch my most egregious errors, but you know the saying "Can't see the forest for the trees." If anything huge pops out at anyone as they read, feel free to leave a comment and let me know!

After injuries are seen to, scrapes layered with healing ointment, minor cuts exposed to open air, and more serious ones stitched up, the journey toward Rivendell resumed.

 

That everyone was on an increased level of alertness, it went without saying.  Thora and Eglantine also clung much more closely to Bella and either their cousins or Thorin.  It was a sweet sight indeed, Bella had to admit, to see Eglantine or Thora sitting in front of Thorin in the saddle of his pony; little hands grasping the pommel while one big arm is protectively curled around the midsection of whichever of the girls is riding with him.

 

“Oi, Nori, wouldn’t the Trollshaws be somewhere hereabouts?” Gloin called as they wended their way along the road.

 

Nori pulled up his pony and looked around before swinging down from the saddle and quickly climbing up a tall tree a few feet off the road.

 

“Well, would you look at that!”

 

“And for the rest of us who cannot or will not climb up a tree like a monkey?” Oin somewhat acerbically requested, joined at the base of the tree by several other dwarrow.

 

“It’s but a few minutes that-a-way!” Nori cheerily replied once he had gained the ground again.

 

“Can we afford to make the detour?” Bella asked as everyone slowly came to a stop and the circle around the Company and Bella and the girls.

 

“We’re making good time, I don’t see why not.” Thorin answered.

 

Bella looked down at Thora, who’s gently tugging on Bella’s shirtsleeves.  “Momma, I want to see the trolls.”

 

“Well, that settles it!” Fili brightly cried.

 

With a few left behind to guard the ponies (and the irony is not lost on ANY in the Company) they make their way toward the trolls and their no doubt still malodorous cave.

 

The mood as they walk is mixed, though generally happy; there are those who quietly talk to their fellows and those who keep their own council, there are still others who are trading quiet jokes and quiet laughter.

 

"Wowwwwwww," Thora and Eglantine, voices both soft with awe, chorused when they first sighted the three frozen trolls.

 

"They're... hooge." Eglantine said, taking a few steps closer, almost near enough to touch a knee.

 

"Huge, sweetheart; the word is 'huge,'" Bella gently corrected.

 

"Wonder if their hoard's still around?" Dwalin mused, a gleam in his eye as he, and almost every other dwarrow, looked around them.

 

"That's not a bad idea," Fili concurred.

 

"Go on, go have a look for it; I'll stay here with the girls," Bella said with a smile, waving them on.

 

Almost to a man, the dwarrow of the Coalition and the Company start following Nori off through the trees; only Bofur and a few of the elves (others of their fellows had went after their dwarrow compatriots) remain behind in the clearing.

 

"Mama, can you tell us the story about the trolls again?" Thora asked.

 

"Of course, Thora; there's no telling how long your father and everyone else will be in that hoard," Bella said with a shake of her head.

 

"'Specially if it's gone unplundered for the last six years." Bofur said with a grin.

 

"You really think it will have been left alone?" Bella asked as they settled under a tree a few feet from the trolls.

 

"Don't see why not.  This place is isolated, way off any already beaten path and it's far enough from the mountains that the goblins might not like to chance it."

 

Bella shrugged and looked at the statues of the trolls for a moment, remembering.  Then she gave herself a shake and looked at the two little girls sitting in front of her, gracing their mother with wide-eyed expectant expressions.

 

"Now, do we remember how the story starts?" Bella asked the girls as Bofur took out his ever present pocket knife and began carving at a some stick he'd picked up off the ground.

 

"You and the dwarrow was travelling," Thora started.

 

"'Were travelling," Eglantine cheekily corrected her sister, earning a rude raspberry from Thora in retort.

 

"Now, now, there's no need for any of that, you two." Bofur gently chided.

 

"Yes, Mister Bofur," The girls chorused.

 

"And, yes, Thora, you were right.  We were travelling, and do you recall what I said happened next?"

 

They both screw up their little faces in concentration and it's Eglantine who contributes the next line of the story.

 

"You came across a deserted farmstead.  Mister Gandalf wanted to keep going, but Thorin – Papa, decided to make camp and you said Mister Gandalf went off in a tizzy."

 

Bofur let out a chortle.  "Too right he did."

 

"Yes, Gandalf was... rather irritated with your father.  He rather does have that gift of irritating many."  Bella and Bofur share a glance loaded with laughter and shared experience.  "Anyway," Bella continued, sparing a look at the trolls,  "We make camp not too far from this abandoned, derelict, falling down little farm house.  Bombur made stew from our supplies and some wild vegetables that Bifur had found.  I was asked to take two bowls of the stew to Fili and Kili, because I had finished mine."

 

"And don't I wish I'd gone with ya when I asked," Bofur chimed in.  "I woulda stopped those two fools from launching their madhat plan and made them go to Thorin before sending you off into the unknown."

 

"I wish I had had the courage at that point to have turned them down and gone to Thorin myself," Bella agreed,

 

"Though it must have been quite the sight to see you running off after our princely troublemakers carrying two bowls of stew."

 

"What?  I thought we might get hungry if we had to... to... stake out whoever had taken Minty and Daisy."

 

"And the Myrtle and Patches while you were arguing with the princes?"

 

"Oh, shut it you," Bella sassed, aiming a slap at Bofur, who dodges while laughing.

 

"They took more ponies while you were arguing with Ki and Fi?" Thora asked, wide eyed at the audacity.

 

"Yes, indeed they did," Bella nodded.  "These trolls must have been rather clever for their kind if they were able to take two more ponies out from under our noses.  Anyway!  Fili spots these lights off in the distance so we decide – against better judgment, but who really had any sort of good judgment back during the quest? – to go and investigate, see if we can't stop the brigands trying to nab our ponies."

 

"Stupidest idea ya ever had." Bofur added.

 

"Yes, thank you, very much for that piece of insightful commentary," Bella sighed, resisting the urge to chuck a pebble at her friend.

 

"I'm always helpful." Bofur cheerily exclaimed.

 

"'Think furnace with wings?'" Bella quoted back, just a little bit acidicly.

 

"Well, that was the first time I'd actually ever met one of your people; I ... may not have been at my most helpful?" Bofur finished the sentence like it was question, with a charming smile to boot.

 

"Cheeky little sod." Bella muttered.

 

"Momma!  Story!" Eglantine and Thora loudly exclaimed.

 

"Oh, my, yes!  I'm sorry, my dears, Bofur and I did rather get off track, didn't we?"

 

"YES."

 

"Aren't you two just so kind and forgiving." Bella said, a little crooked grin.  "Where were we?"

 

"Fili had spotted a light off in a distance and you all went to investigate to try and get the ponies back." Eglantine prompted.

 

"Yes!  We made our way through the trees toward the light; a rather large cook fire as it turned out.  We're hidden just outside of the circle of light; the trolls are as nightblind as anyone else when using fire as a light source.  And, oh, were they raising up a storm of complaints!  Going on and on and on about how they were sick to death of having mutton for dinner and how they missed having... variety in their diets."

 

"Who knew mountain trolls from the Ettenmoors liked variety in their diets?" Bofur remarked.

 

"Who, indeed.  So, your cousins are telling me to hoot once like a barn owl and twice like a snowy owl.  That was if I needed assistance.  Because simply going "HELP!" was apparently too obvious.  I stayed in the shadows-“ “Like any proper burglar would,” “Shut up, Bofur.  And I made it to the little pen they were keeping the poor ponies in; the ponies who were terrified out of their wits and would not listen to me when I shushed them.”

 

“Just like Thora doesn’t sometimes!”

 

“You don’t listen when momma shushes too!”

 

“Girls.  Girls!  As I was saying.  I tried to untie the knot to the gate but the rope – it was so very rough and large that I simply could not and I did not even have a knife on me to saw through this rope,”

 

“Tsk, tsk.  A burglar forgetting her burgling supplies?  Bad form, m’dear.”

 

“I’m going to poison your supper.” Bella retorted, badly suppressed grins on both her face and Bofur’s.

 

“Momma, no!” Both the girls chorused, scandalized.  “Mister Bofur hasn’t finished the dollies he’s making us!  You can’t!  You can’t!”

 

“I was only pretending, girls,” Bella reassured Eglantine and Thora, expanding on her reassurances when this simple one did not seem to satisfy, “Sometimes grown-ups like to tease each other by saying something very silly like, like me threatening to poison Mister Bofur’s food or Fili threatening to shove Kili’s head where the sun doesn’t shine when Kili had hidden all his knives for a joke; I only meant it in fun and would never, ever do something like that.  Bofur’s been one of my best friends ever since we first met.”

 

Once the girls had been sufficiently reassured that Bella did indeed have zero intention of poisoning Bofur, they settled down enough for the story-telling to continue.

 

Bella passed out some small packets of snacks as the denouement of the story approached, casting a raised eyebrow toward the opening of the troll’s hoard after one particularly loud, aggressive string of Khuzdul came floating out.

 

“Dare I ask?”

 

“Nah, best not.” Bofur replied with a shake of his head.

 

“As long as their curses and language does not get too… graphic.” Bella uneasily said, casting a wary eye at the dark cave opening before turning her attention back to her children.

 

“What happened next?” Eglantine asked.

 

“Well, I see a… rather large knife – more sword-size for me, really – hanging from the belt of one of the trolls.  And since they seem to be about as dense as… as…” Bella floated for a second, trying to think of an appropriate enough thing to use as a comparison.

 

“They were really, really, _really_ dumb,” Bofur jumped in, smiling at a stymied Bella.  “Even dumber than Dwalin likes to be on his worst days.  They didn’t even notice or smell – and I’m sure by that point we weren’t smelling terribly pleasant – the two dwarrow and a hobbit right up in their camp site.”

 

“Yes, thank you, Bofur.  I crept closer under the cover of their whinging at the cook about their dinner and was _this_ close to getting the knife off the one sitting down when he picks me up and uses me as his hanky!  His filthy hanky, can you imagine??  And I’m just in his hand, stunned into silence because I feel _foul_ and like I need to bathe for the next year to get rid of the bogies.  I didn’t know who was more surprised – me or the troll.”

 

Judging by the giggling – Thora and Eglantine were both utterly disgusted that a troll had used their mother as a hanky but they were both giggling like mad regardless – the girls clearly found the image equal parts hilarious and disgusting.

 

“Now, and what do you suppose happened next?”

 

“The troll dropped you?” Thora responded, her tone hopeful.

 

“I only wish he had, my sweetheart.  No, instead the troll holds me up, inspecting me and they ask me what I am.”

 

“And your mother’s first instinct is to tell them that she’s a burglar,” Bofur interjected without looking up from the piece of wood he’s whittling.

 

“Wow, momma, you were really bad at being a burglar, huh?”

 

“I got better.” Bella somewhat snootily replied, a little… not quite offended, but not hurt either at the blunt phrasing.

 

“True that you did.  And it ended up saving our hairy hides.” Bofur smiled broadly.

 

“Hairy doesn’t begin to cover it,” Bella snidely muttered before charging on with her story.

 

She described to Thora and Eglantine how the trolls had thrown her at Kili when he had burst out of the bushes and demanded that they drop Bella.  “I had a bruise on my forehead from a buckle on Kili’s coat for weeks, I tell you.”

 

Bella expounded in detail (child appropriate, of course) about how the rest of the dwarrow burst through the rest of the bushes just then and were sharp, lethal whirlwinds around the three bigger, but much slower trolls.

 

She glossed over, as quickly as she could, the part where the trolls threatened to rip her arms and legs off if the dwarrow didn’t drop their swords.

 

“So, your father, giving the troll holding me the _dirtiest_ look imaginable, stabbed his sword into the ground and the others followed in short order.”

 

“You sure it wasn’t you he was giving the dirty look to?” Bofur teased with a small smile as he started gently sanding down the little figurine he’d been carving.

 

“Weeeeeellll, it’s possible.” Bella allowed with a smile.  “So, once all the dwarrow have put their weapons down, they start putting them in all these bags that tie up at their necks so they cannot move.  And the one actually cooking decided how he… wanted to eat them.”

 

“They were gonna eat the dwarrow!  That is so _icky_!” Eglantine squealed.

 

“Yes, it rather was icky.” Bofur agreed, leaning forward to chuck Eglantine under the chin, smiling at the way the little girl reared away from his tickling fingers with wild giggles.  “I was one of the unlucky so-uckers they decided to roast!”

 

“Mummy, what did you do?”

 

“I… let my mouth run away with me, is what I did.” Bella admitted.  “I started talking about food, which as you two are well aware is something hobbits can go on about ‘til the next age comes.  I was so very scared, and I let the first old thing come out of my mouth.  So I told the trolls that they couldn’t cook the dwarrow because they had parasites in their tubes.  Of course, being the occasionally prideful lumps they are, the dwarrow did not like this in the least.

 

“They start raising an almighty ruckus – like Odo Proudfoot does about his last name when he’s had a little too much ale, d’you remember?” Bella directed at the girls, who both nodded quickly.  “And thankfully, as I am trying to tell them to put a sock in it without saying the words because it would have given the _whole_ thing away, your father puts the pieces together and kicks Kili (“Who was being the loudest and acting like a ponce,”) in the shoulder.

 

“So, what do you suppose happened next?”

 

“Uhhhhh… they all got freed from the sack things and kicked the trolls backsides?”

 

“No, Miss Saucy Language,” Bella gently chided Thora.  “They all start yelling again, just as loud as before.  Every.  Single.  One.  ‘Oh, I’ve got _loads_ of parasites in me tubes!’  ‘I got parasites as big as mah arm!’” Bella acted out the noisy mess that evening had been, making the girls laugh at her terrible accent imitations.  “And, just when they were deciding that they’d all rather _squish_ us and turn us into _jelly_ of all things – jelly! – a grand, booming voice rings out in the clearing saying “THE DAWN TAKE YOU ALL!” and there was a mighty crack of a big old boulder, which had been hiding the rising sun all the time and the trolls immediately started to wail and tried to move to get to their cave, but – POOF!”

 

Both girls gasped and jumped as Bella made ‘poof’ motions right in their faces.  “They turned to stone!”

 

“And, girls, the moral of this story is never underestimate the power of words.  Or your mother’s brain.  Even if she did say we were completely inedible and had parasites.”

 

“Oh, shove off, you big lump.” Bella laughed and threw a clump of grass at Bofur.  “S’not like I have any personal experience of what a dwarrow would actually taste like!  I’m not a cannibal!”

 

“Oh, I wouldn’t say you don’t have any idea…” Bofur sagely replied, laughing and bolting from the ground when Bella growled and made a dive for him.

 

“What have I told you lot about innuendo!” Bella yelled, chasing a madly laughing Bofur around the clearing and past some of the others who were just beginning to emerge from the chamber.

 

“Um… you fink mama’s mad at Mister Bofur?” Thora quietly asked Eglantine as they watched Bofur hop a low hanging troll arm and twist himself juuuuust out of Bella’s reach.

 

“Nah, she didn’t throw the breakfist pan at him.” Eglantine calmly replied whilst chewing on her thumb.  “If she was weally mad, she’d’ve thrown that at him.”


	3. The Letter Mystery Reaches a Conclusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella is walking through the gardens of Rivendell, enjoying this respite they've gained, when she's approached by someone who needs to speak with her about an important -- and sensitive -- matter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ever so humbly beg your pardon, my readers, for taking four months to get the next chapter out. This is one of the weightier chapters I think I will ever have to write for the the Naddan 'verse and in addition to being my mother's sole caretaker (because my father is quite literally more useless than nipples on a breastplate) when she broke her arm, I found this chapter incredibly hard to write. I wanted to do it right, not be heavy handed with it and insult the thousands of women who have suffered and do suffer from conditions similar to what I describe Bella as going through in the immediate time frame after the twins birth. And if something strikes you as being odd or wrong or rings the least bit off to you, please, please, please comment below and let me know so I can fix it as soon as possible.

The first sighting of Rivendell as they round that final corner is a dear sight to a weary Bella. She just wants to get inside, find a bed, get her children into it and then go soak in a nice, hot bath.

 

But there are the dwarrow to deal with. All of them. Not just her dozen. And the sun is starting to go down; so perforce, her soak will have to wait for a while as they wend their way down to the house from the valley’s mouth.

 

Bella walks at the forefront of the crowd making its way into Rivendell with Thorin, Balin, Riekki and Arnos, with Fili and Kili just behind them holding their cousins.

 

“Momma, I’m hungry.” Thora piped up as they rounded the final corner.

 

“Me too!” Eglantine chimed in right behind her sister.

 

“You’re always hungry, poppets; we’ll get you something to eat soon, just be patient.” Bella answered with a gentle smile as the courtyard came into view.

 

Bella had time to hiss “Be nice!” in Khuzdul as Elrond came down the steps into the courtyard followed by his daughter and Lindir. The quiet whisper that spread down the line (started by Kili and Fili) made Bella smile as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

 

Thora and Eglantine wasted no time once they had sighted Arwen; their hunger forgotten, they wriggled out of Kili and Fili’s arms with shouts of “Auntie ‘wen! Auntie ‘wen!” and charged right by Elrond and straight into his daughter’s waiting arms.

 

“Hello, sweethearts,” Arwen laughed as she caught both girls and stood up.

 

“We’re sorry we smell.” Eglantine said without preamble.

 

“Yeah, we’ve been on the road for _foreverrrrrrrrrr_.” Thora added. “Getting a bath from mummy in a river isn’t fun. It’s cold.”

 

“I don’t know what you two are talking about; all I smell is two sweet little girls. Now, I do believe I heard a certain two little girls saying that they were hungry; would you two happen to know who those two girls were?”

 

“It was us!” The girls chorus.

 

“How about, if your parents do not mind, we go to the kitchens and see if there’s not some tasty little tidbits lying around for the two of you?”

 

“It’s quite alright.” Bella assured with a wave of her hand. Thorin nodded his own assent after a moment (and a subtle dig in the ribs from Kili).

 

Arwen disappeared up the stairs with the girls; who were already chattering Arwen’s ear off about their ‘adventures.’

 

Elrond watched them walk off with a soft smile. When he turned back around the smile was still there, only dimmed some to a more polite, civil veneer.

 

“Welcome to Rivendell. You are welcome to rest as long as you need; our healers and their stores are open if you need to make use of them, and we will gladly restock your supplies whenever you wish to start your return journey.”

 

“Honestly, right now, Lord Elrond, I think we'd all prefer just to have something to eat and sleep and worry about the rest tomorrow.” Riekki answered.

 

Elrond inclined his head once. “Of course. Food will be delivered to you shortly. We have rooms enough for some of your number, and the great hall has been cleared as well. And Lady Bella, a word, when you have helped the dwarrow settle down for the night?”

 

“Of course.” Bella agreed with a nod before turning and moving after the dwarrow filing out of the courtyard.

 

Bella deemed it prudent for everyone's sanity (and hers) that she would go along and help get everyone sorted and try to do it with the least amount of potential fights started as was remotely possible. Kili opted to come along and help, heaving his pack at his brother's face as he rushed a bit to catch up to Bella and the rest as they started to make their way to the great hall.

 

They get there in the end, though not without a good deal of cajoling, outright threatening in more than one language, and a subtle (or not so subtle) dig in the ribs or swift kick at the right moment being used. The majority of their company is set up in the great hall and Bella shows the others to where the guest rooms are, casting a longing glance at her door before moving on.

 

After the goings on, stresses and frustrations of settling in dwarrow who were (at best) tentative allies to the elves of Rivendell and speaking with Elrond in his library, Bella headed off to her quarters, the siren call of the bath resistible no longer.

 

Fili, Kili, Thorin and the others were settled into rooms whose doors she padded silently past on the way to her own. A quick check of the two small cots near her own bed (whose occupants are sleeping deeply) soothes something in Bella and she heads for the bathroom attached to her rooms.

 

Bella pulled a cord by the tub and after a few moments quiet punctuated by distant, drawn out gurgles, water starts to fill the tub with a quiet splash. While the bathtub fills, Bella perused a basket of items put on a lower shelf (for her convenience, no doubt). The basket contained soaps for washing one’s hair, several small vials of essential oils (labeled in a clear, crisp hand), and a variety of herbs in sachets for infusing the bath water.

 

Bella selected the vial marked ‘lavender’ and tipped in a dribble, the first blush of the scent already a little calming. Following the lavender, a sachet containing rosemary, thyme, chamomile, elder and vervain is tossed into the bath water as well.

 

Once the tub is as full as Bella wished it to be, she pulled the same cord twice to stop the flow. Sinking into the hot water with a happy sigh, Bella sat there for a moment, simply breathing in the steam and scents of the sachet.

 

“Oh, to never again be forced to leave a delightful hot bath.” Bella quietly opined, ever mindful of her daughter’s sleeping nearby.

 

But for the moment, Bella can allow herself to simply be. To temporarily set aside all her cares and worries, the strain of the road. Bella can afford to take the time to simply lie there in the bath and let the hot water soothe out some of the kinks and the knots put there by the road (and sleeping on the ground once more). She can let the herbal scents floating on the steam calm her mind as she breathed in and out, slowly.

 

Only when Bella noticed the surface of the bath not giving off quiet as much steam before does she reach for the soaps and washes her skin until it is pink and feels clean before moving on to her hair.

 

By the time Bella got out and wrapped a fluffy towel around herself and her dripping hair, she felt a million times better and ever so much cleaner (which the color of the bath water could attest to).

 

Bella left the bathroom door ajar as she dried herself and dressed in her night clothes, just in case one of the girls awoke. But there was only the occasionally snuffling snore to be heard as Bella towel-dried and then braided her fall of curly hair. It had straightened out some because she had let it grow out these past years, but if she went to bed without braiding it, it wouldn’t half resemble the bastard offspring of a bird’s nest and a fluffy white dandelion.

 

Bella headed to bed after tidying up the bathroom, but not before dropping kisses on her girls' heads along the way. Neither so much as snuffled or twitched in response and that might have worried Bella were the cause of their deep sleeping attributable to something other than doing something that wore them out – traveling on the road.

 

The early morning sun and bird song gently roused Bella the next morning and she rolled over in bed –

 

“GAH!” Bella wordlessly cried, jerking back from Eglantine who had her face an inch or two from her mother's.

 

“Sorry, amad,” Eglantine giggled, clearly not sorry in the slightest.

 

“I can tell,” Bella wryly replied, reaching out and fluffing the mess of curls on her daughter's head some more. “Is there any particular reason you chose to wake me by perching your face so close to mine, my sweetheart?”

 

“I got my comb stuck in my hair.” Eglantine admitted without preamble, turning to show said comb stuck in the curls at the back.

 

“Come here,” Bella sighed, sitting up in bed as Eglantine made herself comfortable in her mother's lap.

 

“Where's your sister?” Bella asked as she extricated the comb and began gently teasing out the knots and tangles.

 

“She went looking for breakfast.” Eglantine responded.

 

“Ah, of course, she did, how silly of me.” Bella murmured nonsensically as she began braiding Eglantine's hair. It is a matter of minutes later that sees Eglantine slip off of her mother's bed and scamper out the door (sans her pinafore, but at least she had gotten herself dressed correctly besides that).

 

Bella dresses herself and finds that it is early enough that the idea of an early morning stroll through the garden before breakfast is a good idea.

 

Bella wandered with no set destination in mind, inhaling the light, sweet and rather comforting scents of the flowers, munching on a juicy, crisp apple snagged from a low hanging branch. Well, she would never say no to a little snack at any time of the day.

 

Bella spotted Lindir entering the gardens from the house. Something seemed a bit... off in the elf's demeanor. Bella chalked it up to having so many dwarrow within Rivendell's boundaries; having but thirteen a few years ago had left him discomfited enough.

 

“Lindir, good morning.” Bella greeted the elf when she rounded a corner and saw him a few feet in front of her.

 

“Lady Bella, good morning.” Lindir returned the greeting, albeit in a slightly distracted manner. “How are you feeling after coming off the road?”

 

“The bath last night went a long way to mitigating my aches and pains; I had forgotten how wretched sleeping on the ground is.”

 

“Quite.” Lindir agreed with a small smile. “How are the girls? I have not seen them yet this morning.”

 

Something was definitely amiss; Lindir was _fidgeting_ – or, he was fidgeting for an elf. Playing with the hem of his sleeve, fingers nervously smoothing at non-existent wrinkles. If Bella were a betting woman she would have given it another minute before Lindir started playing with his hair and worrying at his lip.

 

“The girls are well. They have taken well to travelling, thankfully. And I'm sure you'll see them before too ong; their empty bellies were their priority this morning, or, so I understand. They managed to sneak out without waking me. For the most part.”

 

Bella could perhaps attribute the abruptness of her next words to dwarrow influence, or her own curiosity, who knew.

 

“Lindir, forgive me if I seem forward, but what is the matter?”

 

Lindir appeared to dither for only a moment before he drew a bundle wrapped in cloth from somewhere within his robes and held it out to Bella.

 

“This is yours.” Lindir said.

 

“Mine? What possession of mine could discomfit an elf to visible levels?” Bella asked as she took the bundle from Lindir but did not unwrap it.

 

“Letters.” Lindir almost seemed to have to force that one word out before he quickly forged on. “It was I who stopped the letters from Erebor reaching you in the Shire. I did not do this out of any sort of malice, please believe me when I say this.”

 

“You... stopped... the letters? Why?”

 

“I remember how you were when you arrived here in Imladris, how listless and... how broken in spirit and heart you were. Whatever transpired on the Lonely Mountain left you so... empty and sad.”

 

Lindir's words faded out to white noise in Bella's ears. She remembered the days he spoke of all too well. They were a part of her life she would more than likely never be able to fully leave behind.

 

_A thin wail rent the wair, climbing a little in volume before dying down and then climbing again._

 

_Bella pushed a hunk of thick, greasy hair off her face and thought about how she should get up and go see which one of the... babies was crying. But she just could not summon the energy to rouse herself from the bed._

 

_It had now been a few weeks since her waters had broken and Rivendell's healers had helped Bella to birth the children._

 

_Bella had only ever seen the little babies (and, oh, they were so small and that was her fault, wasn't it, travelling as far as she had whilst pregnant...) a tiny handful of times since. And after all those times the healer had deemed it wise to give Bella a sedative tea. She got very... upset, you see, whenever she saw the babies. They did rather look like... rather like..._

 

“Lady Bella?” Lindir put a hand on Bella's arm and she was a little startled to see Lindir's face so close to her own, the elf having knelt down so he was not looming over her. “I know I have upset you and that pains me. I know I had no right to do this, but I did not want to endanger your recovery."

 

“ _Belladonna Baggins, are you planning on getting out of bed at any point in the immediate future?”_

 

_Bella cracked open her eyes. “'lo, Gandalf.”_

 

“ _Hello to you too. And my first question still stands: Are you going to get up at all?”_

 

“ _Too tired, no energy.” Bella mumbled rolling over._

 

“ _The Belladonna Baggins I knew would never say such things that are obviously... poppycock.”_

 

“ _You told me if I went on that... mad, impossible quest that I would never be the same.”_

 

“ _I did say words to that effect, yes,” the Grey Wizard hedged as he drew a chair up to the bed._

 

“ _I have no energy to do anything so I shall sleep instead.”_

 

“ _Your lack of energy is understandable... to a point. Bringing not one, but two small beings into this world is a wearisome undertaking from what I understand. Especially feeding them.”_

 

“ _My milk isn't coming in.” Bella admitted in a whisper. “Yet another thing I am doing wrong.”_

 

“ _Now you listen to me, Bella,” Gandalf was firm in his tone, but he was nothing but gentle as he picked Bella's hand up where it had been listless on top of the bed clothes. “It is not your fault that your milk has not come in yet. Your mind and body went through an incredible trauma that would have rendered a weaker mind permanently catatonic._

 

“ _I do not doubt that in time, if, perhaps, you began with getting out of bed and join me for a walk to the kitchen and we partook of a nourishing snack, your body would recognize that it needed to begin helping you make food for your children. And maybe a visit to your little ones? I am certain they miss their mother and do not give a whit about anything but being held and loved by their mother.”_

 

“ _I haven't held them. I can't –“ Bella choked on her words, her face burning with the shame of her admittance._

 

“ _No one would ever dream of forcing you to hold them if that is your wish. But...”_

 

“ _Th-The second child... she looks like...”_

 

“ _Ah,” Gandalf said quietly. “I see.” Then a moment later, “Well, I do not think I need to repeat myself often, but I shall on this: my stay here will be of some duration. So, if you wish, whenever you feel that you are ready, I would be more than happy to accompany you to the nursery.”_

 

Bella shook her head a little and looked up at Lindir, feeling more than a little angry with the elf. “If you'll excuse me, I need to go.” Bella coldly spoke, moving around Lindir and walking further into the palatial gardens and as fast as her legs could carry her without it being qualified as running.

 

Bella did not like to think of the days before and immediately after the girls' birth; they were incredibly dark days that brought her almost nothing but a deep, intense sense of shame. She needed time to herself to think this over, without interruptions.

 

Bella walked until she found herself under the path that led to the falls. In spring and summer and fall it was an attractive walk, with benches scattered here and there for those that wished to sit and rest for a few moments. Or if they simply wished to sit amongst the trees and contemplate and gather their thoughts.

 

Bella clambered onto a bench by the river and looked at the bundle of letter clenched tightly in her hand. It had been neatly tied together with string and the address on the front of the top envelope still looked as crisp and fresh as the day it had been written. The bundle of letters also felt as heavy as a brick in her hand right now.

 

Six and a half weeks... It had taken six and a half weeks for Bella to go to the nursery and see her daughters.

 

_Everyone kept politely and even soothingly cooing platitudes at her as she sat in a chair in the corner of the nursery propped up by pillows and nervously waited for her children to be brought to her. The elder child was awake while the younger child was being checked out by a healer, a perfectly normal check up, she was assured._

 

“ _Here, you are Lady Bella,” The nursemaid simpered –_ simpered _– and did that ever make something in Bella just want to reach out and tweak a pointy ear in annoyance. “This is your eldest child. She is a sweet thing, and already very stubborn and strong-willed, like her mother.”_

 

“ _Thank you.” Bella replied in a clipped tone._

 

 _Gandalf, watching from just inside the door, softly snorted at that as the nursemaid tidied up some things and left the room though Bella had no doubt she would not go far. Not when the last time Bella had been near her children she had had such histrionics that the sedative had knocked her out for_ days _._

 

_Bella looked down at the little swaddled bundle in her arms. The babe looked calmly back at Bella the blue of her eyes so very piercing. Bella shivered and gasped softly when the babe, who had worked an arm free of her swaddling blanket, grabbed onto Bella's finger after the tiny hand had collided with her larger one._

 

“ _Hello, little one,” Bella whispered to the baby, not noticing Gandalf slipping out of the room with a smile. “I am sorry, I am, for not meeting you sooner,” Bella sniffed and wiped at her eyes with the back of her wrist. “I'm afraid we've not gotten off to a very good start, you, me and your little sister. I've been a fool. Such a stupid fool. I wouldn't come and see you and your sister, worked myself up into some ridiculous histrionics anytime anyone brought up the topic. That's a pretty shoddy start to our relationship, unfortunately. That I refused to so much look at you and your sister because both of you bear resemblances in the most startling ways to your f-father is not fair to either of you. And I am quite sure that as I start to get better because I will, I have two little ones who have done me no harm to look after, I will be apologizing to you and your sister for a long time to come. Because you and your sister are_ mine _. You are my blood, my family and I'm quite sure your grandparents would have utterly adored and spoiled you both rotten.”_

 

The road to recovery had been a long one, truth be told, Bella still felt like she was in recovery on some days. But for every small victory gained and for every loss, Bella had her children to think of and a support system that was exceptionally ready, exceptionally willing and able to support Bella, prop her up and encourage or do whatever it was that she needed on that particular day.

 

Bella looked down at the bundle of letters once more and with a decided motion untied the string and took up the first letter and opened it.

 


	4. Mahal, Yavanna, All the Valar Preserve Me (aka Adventures in Parenthood)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A funny, sweet, but still "Oh Yavanna above my children" moment for Bella and Thorin with the girls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this update has been so long in coming. My personal life over the last several months has not been... good and I've just not been in the right space mentally to write before yesterday, really, and that's why I'm posting this unbeta-ed. So, here's the latest update of Drops in the Stream. And if any of you happen to note some egregious error, comment and let me know.

Bella sat on that bench reading the letters until the sun was fully in the sky. Crying, laughing and smiling by turns, Bella sat there and gave each letter its due and was quite absorbed by them until her stomach all but screamed its hunger and demand to be fed.

 

Bella carefully secured the bundle of letters and tucked it away inside her coat, deciding it was high time she checked on her daughters and made certain they were not up to mischief encouraged by their cousins.

 

Bella hid the letters in her room before heading off toward the kitchens to look for Thora and Eglantine (and maybe get a snack as well).

 

No, the girls hadn't been seen since breakfast, Bella was informed by one of the cooks. No, no, no, that'd be second breakfast you speak of, another cook chimed in. In the end, both cooks suggested the great hall and Bella left carrying half a dozen freshly baked summer vegetable pasties in a clean towel to snack on.

 

Bella's nibbling on one such pasty when she runs into Thorin coming from the opposite direction.

 

“Oh, Thorin! Hello!”

 

“Bella,” Thorin greeted her with a nod of the head.

 

“I was just looking for the girls; you haven't happened to seen them anywhere, have you?”

 

“I believe last I heard they were in the library with Ori.”

 

“Ah. Pastie?”

 

“Er... Thank you.” Thorin said, a bit stiffly, reaching out to take one of the proffered pasties. “May I walk with you?”

 

“Er... of course!”

 

They both set off down the hall toward the library, an appropriate and stiff amount of distance between them. Both Thorin and Bella eat their pasty in near silence, except for the chewing.

 

 _This is worse than the Green Dragon_. Bella thought as she started in on another pasty. The nerves and awkwardness were making her hungry. She always had been a bit of a nervous nibbler.

 

They heard the giggles as they rounded the final corner before entering the library. Bella thought that perhaps Ori was telling the girls a funny story and wasn't that a sweet, fun way to pass the time.

 

Ohhhh, she could never have been more wrong.

 

Bella and Thorin stopped, dead in their tracks, the cloth containing the last few pasties barely contained within Bella's nearly limp grip.

 

“Mahal, Yavanna... ALL of the Valar preserve me – What happened?!” Bella questioned, her voice going a little high while Thorin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

 

Both Eglantine and Thora stare at their mother and father, then at Ori and then at each other.

 

“It was her.” Came the unison call, fingers pointing.

 

“I didn't ask who's fault it was, I asked what happened. Regardless, you both need a bath. And a change of clothes.”

 

The word 'bath' inspired what Bella considered a reaction typical in most children; Eglantine tried diving through a gap in Thorin's legs while Thora thought using Ori as a shield would work. Thorin merely grabbed a squirming Eglantine and firmly tucked her under one arm while Ori scooped up Thora, who, shrilly, cried about betrayal while being handed off to her mother.

 

“Come on, Ori; the private baths are on the way.”

 

“Thank you.” Ori said.

 

Bella and Thorin carry their squirming charges out of the library and down the hall with Ori bringing up the rear. On their way to Bella's room they pick up a highly amused Bofur and Balin.

 

“What exactly was it you were trying to do, little ones?” Balin asked as the girls were dragged into the bathroom, Bella unceremoniously dumping Thora into her father's arms so she could get the bath started.

 

“We wanted to have the inky things like Baldy and Father and Mister Bofur have.” Eglantine exclaimed.

 

Bofur snorted. “Baldy. That's a good one.”

 

“Eglantine can continue to come up with amusing names all she wants, WHILE she's taking a bath.”

 

“But, mama! We just had a baff the other day!”

 

“Yeah!”

 

“You two imps are covered in charcoal; yes, you do!”

 

As the small group rounds the final corner before Bella's room, they meet Nori coming from the opposite direction. “What's this?”

 

“The girls found charcoal sticks.” Thorin explained – Bella was a bit preoccupied recapturing Thora who had managed to wriggle free.

 

“I can see that.”

 

“Nori, help us!” Eglantine plaintively wailed.

 

“Sorry, sweetheart, I can't. I'm also gaining a new appreciation for my brother and what he went through raising myself and Ori.” Nori replied with a wry grin.

 

“Ain't that the truth.” Bofur replied with a wink as they continued up the hall.

 

“While gaining that appreciation, do you mind going and opening my door and the door to the bathroom?”

 

“But, of course.” Nori turned and hurried back up the hall, disappearing and reappearing moments later.

 

“I wish you luck.” Nori intoned as Bella and Thorin bustled by with their charges, who very clearly still cherished some hope of escaping the dreaded bath.

 

Balin and Bofur also wished them luck, chuckles and amusement heavily coloring the tones of their voices. All hope was over once Bella and Thorin made it into the bathroom and Thorin kicked the door shut with a heavy boot.

 

Bella is quick to set Thora down and give the rope pull two quick tugs.

 

“Alright, while the bath is filling, you two need to undress.” Bella firmly ordered, hands on her hips while both girls looked at their mother, faces mutinous.

 

Thorin stands there, guarding the door and watching with mounting amusement at the staring down going on.

 

Bella just stands there, somehow managing to stare both her children down at the same time. It's a bittersweet moment – he remembers watching Dis do much the same with Fili and Kili when they had been very young.

 

Thora is the first one to crack: she lets out this big 'harrumph' of a sigh, and wiggles out of her dress.

 

“Can I pick the soap?”

 

“Yes, Thora, you may.” Bella allowed.

 

Thora scampered across the bathroom and started going through the basket as Eglantine got her head stuck in her dress. Both Bella and Thorin catch the eye of the other and have to quickly look away – lest they burst out laughing.

 

“Come here, sweetheart.” Bella reached for Eglantine, helping get the little girl extricated from her dress as Thorin checked the temperature of the water with his hand.

 

“It's warm enough.”

 

“Then pull the cord once to stop it.” Bella instructed, as she tossed the girls dirty clothes into a corner and then went to see what was taking Thora so long.

 

“Come on young miss; stop dithering in the hopes that you can put off the bath and pick a soap or I'll do it for you.”

 

“Fine. I pick this one.”

 

“Hey, there's no need for an attitude, young lady.”

 

“Your mother is right, Thora. You and Eglantine were caught doing something you two know you're not supposed to be doing and now you need to clean up.” Thorin chimed in, backing Bella up.

 

“Thank you, Thorin.” Bella thanked him, nipping out into her room to grab some pillows from the divan in the corner – it'd be hell on their knees to just kneel on stone for however long it took to get the girls clean.

 

Both girls allowed their parents to help them into the tub and then were not _too_ bad about holding still whilst the charcoal was washed from their hair and helping where they could in washing themselves. Then again, that might have also had something to do with the fact that Bella had hinted at no dessert if they did not behave themselves.

 

“Alright, my little ones, you're almost done, I just need you to rinse the soap off and – Thora Sefa don't even think –“

 

But by that point it was too late.

 

Even if they were somewhat taller than hobbits of the same age, both girls were still small enough that the bathtub in Bella's room was rather like a paddle pool for them. The bath tub was certainly deep enough that they could jump and splash about without worry about truly hurting themselves, and little children do like to splash about in water, don't they?

 

Thora had clambered up onto the edge of the tub and just jumped off the edge into the middle of the pool – creating a wave that rushed water out of the tub on all sides. But most especially in the direction of her parents – who were drenched.

 

Bella did not move for a moment, still kneeling from where she had been just rinsing Eglantine's hair. She did not move, just blinked, getting water out of her eyes as best she could. Thorin had certainly got the worst of it though, Bella thought when she finally looked at him. The dwarf who had been kneeling at her side looking all the world like a father enjoying giving his daughter bath time, now looked rather like a drowned, sopping wet cat.

 

Bella just stared at him, almost wondering vaguely if she should offer him a towel, and then the giggle chain reaction started. Eglantine was the first one to start giggling, looking at her father with eyes bright with laughter and amusement.

 

“Oh, you think this is funny, do you?” Thorin fake growled at Eglantine.

 

“Yes!” She giggled, her voice higher for the laughing.

 

Then Thora joined in on the giggling.

 

“I got you all wet!” Thora proudly declared the obvious, working herself up into a proper full body giggle.

 

And then Bella got the giggles. She hurriedly pressed her hand to her mouth as the first bubble of the giggle escaped her and then began laughing harder when Thorin, who looked ever so much like a half-drowned cat right now, turned incredulous brows on her.

 

“Are you _laughing_?”

 

“I'm – Sorry!” Bella gasped. “It's just – you look – and she – it's –“ She dissolved into laughter from there, the girls quickly following their mother until the bathroom is filled with it.

 

Even Thorin saw the humor in it, laughing with this wonderful smile on his face as he got up and grabbed a towel from nearby and plucked a shrieking, giggling Thora out of the tub with a “And I think this one is done for the day.”

 

“Our things are by the armoire, if you think you can get her dressed,” Bella offered as Thorin swung Thora up over his shoulder, almost drowned out by her daughter's shriek of glee.

 

“I'll make the attempt at any rate,” Thorin joked, still smiling as he left the bathroom, leaving the door ajar.

 

Bella handed Eglantine the bar of soap and kept a weather eye on the door and her child as she washed herself up.

 

This had been... good. Of course, it must be miserable for Thorin, having to stay in sopping wet clothes until he could change out of them. And Bella imagined being drenched by his somewhat recalcitrant child was not all that fun, but the laughter had been... good. It had been overall pleasant moment for them – accepting the moment they had come upon the girls covered in charcoal.

 

There was reason to hope after the bonding moment of laughing at Thorin's predicament (and the look on his face) of being splashed with a great deal of water, that things would work out well for their nascent little family.

 


	5. The Leave-Taking from Rivendell and the... Perils of Travel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty much what it says on the tin: The Company finally moves on from Rivendell and continues their journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, there's an incident at the end of the chapter where part of the treatment requires forcing certain background characters to induce vomiting. Here's the link I found on treating the particular type of mushroom poisoning. http://en.intoxication-stop.com/simptomy-otravleniya-gribami-lisichkami_html_default.htm

They spend nearly two weeks recovering from the journey and resting in Rivendell.

 

It had felt wonderful, to not be on guard at all hours of the day and night. And to get a proper, restful sleep that didn't have the remotest chance of being interrupted by an errant pebble or root under a bed roll.

 

The girls had enjoyed being able to run about the garden's to their hearts content and not having to constantly mind the grown ups telling them “Don't go too far, little one” and filching fruit off of low hanging branches (with aid).

 

The time spent in Rivendell was nothing short of idyllic. But all things must come to and end. And as the road stretched ever on and on, so to did the long road to Erebor stretch out before them.

 

So it is a bright late summer morning that sees several ponies and mules and horses laden down with supplies calmly standing about while both elves and dwarrow hurried about completing list minute tasks.

 

Bella peered over the balcony in the library that overlooked the courtyard, watching the activity for a moment.

 

“You worry.”

 

Bella turned and smiled. “I'm a mother; 'worried' is the job description.”

 

Elrond let out a small huff-like chuckle. “Quite.”

 

“But that isn't what you meant.”

 

“No. I see you questioning much. This move, yourself, if this decision was wise.”

 

“It's a bit late to be wondering about that now, I suppose. The decision was also made for us a bit as well. But I will make the best of this situation. I'm a Baggins and a Took, we persevere.”

 

“That you most certainly do.”

 

A shadow catches Bella's eye and she turned to find Thorin standing there. How much of that had he heard, Bella wondered.

 

“Thorin, are the girls –“

 

“Currently making Balin glad he doesn't have any children; so they are perfectly alright. However, I wondered if I might have a word with Lord Elrond – about the scout's reports of what we can expect when crossing the Misty Mountains.”

 

“Of course. Bella, if you will excuse me.”

 

“Certainly. Thorin.”

 

“Bella.” Thorin returned, nodding at her before turning and following Elrond out of the library.

 

Bella retrieved the small stack of volumes she had come for and headed back to her room.

 

“Well, I have filled my oddness quota for the day,” Bella remarked aloud as she walked into her room.

 

“What's weird?” Ori asked, wrinkling he nose when he parsed that sentence a moment later.

 

“Thorin, on his own initiative, sought out Elrond and asked to speak to him.” Bella answered, packing the books before wrapping them in a length of fabric, to protect it on the long road to Erebor.

 

“That is a bit... peculiar, I'll grant.”

 

“A bit? A _bit_? Are we speaking of the same dwarf? The same one on that mad quest who refused to seek help from Elrond until Gandalf made him via deception?”

 

“A fair point.” Ori admitted. “But, maybe, he's trying to be more... diplomatic? Polite?”

 

“Regardless, it was strange.”

 

Bella, with Ori carrying a box containing volumes on loan from Rivendell's library, head down to the courtyard where they are relieved of their burdens by two dwarrow.

 

Bella stood where she was and listened for a moment, in an effort to locate her children. It wasn't long before she heard their delighted giglges and followed them to their source, a corner of the courtyard where they were feeding ponies apples – doubtless they were ones that had been pinched from Rivendell's orchards.

 

“Bribing the ponies with ill-gotten gains girls?”

 

“What's 'ill-gotten gains' mean, momma?” Thora asked as Eglantine giggled about the pony's mouth that was tickling her hand.

 

“Your old mum wants to know if we pinched these delightful apples from the orchard.” Kili explained to Thora before he took a rather obnoxious bite out of one.

 

“Which we did not; Lady Arwen gave the girls these deliciously effervescent apples.”

 

“'Effervescent apples'?” Bella echoed.

 

Gesturing to his brother Kili told Bella “He had some pipeweed this morning,” as if that explained everything. Which it rather did.

 

“What kind of leaf did you have?” Bella asked as she gathered her daughters to her and helped them into their cloaks.

 

“A delightful young chap shared some... what did he call it... O– Old Toby, I think.”

 

Bella chuckled as she helped Eglantine untangle herself from her cloak.

 

“Would this be your first time smoking Old Toby, Fili?” Bella inquired, giving Thora a quick brush down.

 

  
“That it is, auntie!” Fili happily, almost proudly, declared.

 

“Enjoy it while it lasts; you may wake up on the morrow feeling like someone packed your mouth with cotton as” Kili rubbed his arm where Bella had belted him one, trying to give her his best puppy eyes.

 

“You know what that was for, so don't be making cow eyes at me, young man.”

 

“Ah! There you are!” Balin called out as he made his way over to their corner of the courtyard. “We're just about ready to head back out onto the road, are you ready?”

 

“As we'll ever be – girls, who do you want to ride with today?”

 

“I wanna ride with Fili!” Thora shouted.

 

“But I wanna ride with Fili!”

 

“No one is riding with Fili today save for Fili himself.” Bella declared.

 

“But – “

 

“No 'buts' about it, Thora. Now, pick someone else, dear one.”

 

The passing of ten minutes sees Thora and Eglantine perched in front of Bofur and Nori on their ponies. The two aforementioned dwarrow who, it must be mentioned, look rather smug at being picked.

 

Everyone else settles into the saddles of their mounts, Bella being helped onto hers by Kili. Elrond stepped forward just as Bella gathered up her mount's reins.

 

“The weather should hold until you are quite nearly out of the mountains.”

 

Throin nodded, his tone solemn when he replied, “We will use that well, thank you.”

 

“Nai tiruvantel ar varyuvantel i Valar tielyanna nu vilya.” Elrond said by way of farewell.

 

Bella smiled. “Le hannon. I'll send word once we have arrived in Erebor.”

 

“Na lû e-govaned vîn.” Kili added.

 

“Agoral vae, Kili.” Elrond smiled warmly at the young dwarf who smiled back, looking rather proud of himself.

 

And with the girls most noisily calling good bye to Arwen and Elrond, the train of horses and ponies wends its way out of the courtyard, heading once again for the world outside the Hidden Valley's borders.

 

Bella had a look around, and a final look back at the graceful buildings of Rivendell awash in bright sunlight. She will own to it that she finds herself most pleasantly surprised (and grateful) at how many elves and dwarrow elected to come along.

 

One week out from Rivendell they run into a slight... snag.

 

The sun is setting and Bifur and Or are keeping the girls entertained (and more importantly, out of the way) as everyone works to set up camp for the night.

 

Bella's unpacking the skillet and other tools, glancing up every so often when the girls' laughter pitches over that of the camp noises and wondering about what can be made for that night's supper, when Gloin approaches her.

 

“Bella, my brother says he needs a moment of your time – if'n you're not too busy, mind.”

 

“Of course.”

 

Gloin lead Bella over to a corner of the camp containing, as she's soon very aware, a good number of rather... uncomfortable dwarrow.

 

“Oh, good lord. Mushrooms. Again. Again one of you – or in this case several – ate mushrooms you shouldn't have.”

 

“Aye, that they did.” Oin agreed, getting up from where he'd been kneeling on the ground inspecting one of his patients. “Figured you might be able to tell me which sort this is.”

 

Gloin handed Bella a pair of gloves and she slides them on. Oin dropped the sample into her palm and Bella doesn't try to stop the sigh.

 

“Chanterelles. Again. Or, rather, false chanterelles. Symptoms?”

 

“All of 'em feel nauseated. One's dry-heaving, but nothing's come up. And two have... well...”

 

“Browned their trousers?” Bella mildly suggested when Oin trailed off.

 

“Er... quite.”

 

“Right, d'you mind if I make a suggestion for treatment?”

 

“No, go right ahead.” Oin said.

 

  
“I'm going to need a fire built; we need to heat up enough water for all,” Bella took a quick head count, “ten of you to drink four or five cups of warm water.”

 

“What good will that do?” Oin wanted to know.

 

“Their symptoms, as you are well aware, is their body trying to purge itself of the poison. So, they need to purge themselves. Oh! We'll also need a pit dug as well, or maybe a trench would be better. Because once this lot have drunk the water they'll be making themselves vomit.”

 

“Suddenly, I'm no longer hungry.”

 

“You and some others can dig the trench then.” Oin decided for Gloin.

 

In short order a triage area is set up some distance from the main camp. Though Oin says he can carry out the details of treatment from here on out, Bella assured him she's not frightened of a little vomit.

 

“Back in Hobbiton, one would see a few cases of false chanterelle poisoning every time they came into season – a few overeager young hobbits, you know.”

 

“Might be a wise idea to educate these poor sods once they're well again on the differences. Dwarrow don't much deal with mushrooms as food.”

 

“That's not a terrible idea. I'll be right back.”

 

Bella nipped back to camp where everyone else was eating supper, heading straight for her bag and pencils. Thorin stood up and approached Bella the moment he had seen her walked back into camp.

 

“Bella, what's the matter? Why have the elves shoved cotton into their ears? Why was a trench dug?”

 

“Some of the scouts ate some false chanterelles; they'll be fine, it's just treating them will be a bit... noisy. Do make sure the girls don't come near the area, won't you?”

 

“Of course.” Thorin quickly assented. “Do you need any assistance?”

 

“Thank you, but no. Oin and I can handle it. Enjoy your supper. And make sure the girls eat all of their supper before they have dessert.”

 

With that, Bella turned from Thorin and headed back to the triage. She helped Oin dish out the water to every affected scout and then sat a ways back and began sketching by light of a torch, as the dwarrow got on with the dreadful business of the purging.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nai tiruvantel ar varyuvantel i Valar tielyanna nu vilya. -- May the Valar protect you on your path under the sky.  
> Le hannon. -- Thank you  
> Na lû e-govaned vîn. -- Until next we meet  
> Agoral vae -- You did well


	6. Crossing the Misty Mountains

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To pass time after supper on the journey, the twins ask Bella to tell them the story about when they crossed the Misty Mountains.

After the scouts have recovered from their ill-advised woodland snack, they continue on, the mist-wreathed peaks of the mountains looming closer every day.

 

“Wow.” Eglantine breathed, her voice soft with awe. “I never see'd mountains so big 'afore.”

 

“Me eiver.” Thora agreed.

 

“You two think these are big mountains? Just you wait until you see Erebor!” Bofur proudly proclaimed with a grin.

 

“In fact,” Bella added, pulling her pony up alongside the girls so she could pass out snacks, since it was time for elevenses (judging by the position of the sun in the sky), “if you two are very lucky, you might be able to catch a glimpse of Erebor once we cross the Misty Mountains.”

 

“We will?!” Both girls chorused.

 

“Aye, if we can gain the top of the Carrock, you can see Erebor on a clear day.” Thorin added as he joined the conversation.

 

“Wait,” Thora said, squinting up at her father in what Bella is (fairly) sure is meant to be a mimic of an adult hobbit's face when they try to suss it out of a young hobbit whether or not it was they who pinched tarts cooling on a window sill. “Momma said last night that we're still at least 2 months away. How can we see it if it's so far?”

 

“Your mother is right, Thora, we are still quite a ways from Erebor. But Bofur is correct as well. The Lonely Mountain is so large that you can see it from very far away.”

 

“Why's it called the 'Lonely Mountain'?” Eglantine piped in with.

 

“Anyone have a map to hand?”

 

“I do, King Thorin.” A young looking elf called out over the flurry of activity around them.

 

The map is passed along to Thorin as Eglantine is shifted from Dori's saddle to Thorin's.

 

“Alright, Eglantine,” Thorin starts to explain as the map is unfolded. “You see those mountains ahead of us?”

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

“Those are these mountains here on this map. Erebor, as you can see is all the way over here. Now do you see why Erebor is called the Lonely Mountain?”

 

“Yep!”

 

It takes another two weeks before they are in the mountain and out of the foothills, according to... well, all the dwarrow.

 

The scout reports had said nothing about the enemy, the High Pass was clear, they were safe and the pass was watched, but a hush had fallen over the party.. As soon as the paths had become more narrow, more rocky and less green, that hush had fallen. Everyone with a weapon kept a hand hovering near it constantly.

 

One night they bivouac along a wider stretch of the mountain path. Dinner's been served up and down the line and everyone's eating and making it quiet, hushed conversation.

 

Thora came toddling over to her mother after dinner, cookies in hand and sleepily settled herself in her mother's lap.

 

“Hello, darling. Come to visit your old mum?”

 

Thora nodded and bit off a piece of her cookie. “Tell us a story, momma? Please?”

 

“Alright. What do you want to hear, my love?” Bella asked as she smoothed Thora's curls out of her face.

 

“Tell us 'bout when you were on th' quest.”

 

Bella looked up at the Company sitting around the tamped down cook fire. Should she speak of it? Yes, certainly she could, but exactly how much should she say or how should she go about cleaning up parts of the story that little dwobbit ears weren't meant to hear yet.

 

“Lagbur album?” Fili suggested.

 

“Good idea. Eglantine, are you going to stay awake long enough to hear this story?” Bella teased, because her other daughter, sitting curled up in her father's lap, looked to be falling asleep between bites of her cookie.

 

“Yes, 'mad.”

 

“Alright, then. Where to begin, where to begin...”

 

“The thunder battle seems a good enough place.” Balin helpfully suggested.

 

“Oh, yes, indeed it would!” Ori chimed in, looking eager for a story (even if he had lived through it).

 

“So, we're well into the Misty Mountains, having evaded death by troll, thanks to Gandalf.”

 

“And your mother.” Throin interrupted, warmth in his tone.

 

Eglantine reached up and gently tugged on her father's beard to get his attention. “Papa, we know 'bout da trolls. Mama told the story while you and da ovvers were going through their stinky cave.”

 

Thorin smiled warmly at his eldest daughter. “I'm sorry, I did not know. Pray continue, Bella.”

 

“Thank you, Thorin.” Bella crisply replied as amused looks passed among the Company. “As I was saying – we're climbing the passes, the paths are narrow as anything and then it begins to rain – the gall!” Thora giggled when Bella swooped in and chucked her under the chin.

 

“So, we persevere on as the rain gets heavier and heavier. We resembled cats that had been dunked in a bath – all wet and foul-tempered. We're on the narrowest path yet and the wind and rain lashing us in every which way and then some, your father – I could barely hear him screaming about the need for shelter which _of course_ we need shelter, no one's disagreeing about _that_. And that's when Balin realizes this is no normal storm, alerting us to the thunder battle we're currently stuck in the middle of. And just then, what do you suppose happens?”

 

“A big clap of funder?” Eglantine guessed.

 

“Close. One stone giant threw a _massive_ chunk of rock he had just plucked off the mountain like it was a crumpet off the tray at tea time. It crashed into the mountain above us, raining debris all down on us and chipping away at the path. And then we _saw it_ – a stone giant as big as a mountain, bigger than the rest! He's peeling himself off the mountain like he does it all the time and hurling another chunk of rock at yet another giant. Oh, it was terrible on the mountain.

 

“There we all are, skirting along that path as fast as we dared, trying to find a cave to shelter in and at the same time attempting to avoid the shards and rubble flying through the air as the giants really get into their battle. I watched as one giant, holding a great slab of stone, bring his fist crashing down into the head of another giant – knocking his head clean off!” Bella smiled as both her girls gasped. Her girls were such a good audience, it was sweet.

 

“So, while that giant's head is flying off in one direction, bouncing and banging off outcroppings of the mountain, its body fell past us into the mists and darkness below. And after the stone giant was lost to sight, we found out we were in much greater danger than we had realized.”

 

“What happened, momma?” Thora asked, gazing up at her mother with wide eyes.

 

“The bit of mountain we were all on started to _move_.” Both girls appropriately gasped. “Oh, yes, it was quite terrifying. It became more so when the stone giant _we_ were standing on stood up. We were on its knees, and it never noticed us, nor heard us yelling when we were split up – a group of us on each knee – as it started moving around and joining in the fight. And then this next bit is where things got a little bit... dicey.

 

“The knee I was on with Kili, Bombur, Bofur, Dwalin, and Ori went flying into the mountainside–“

 

“And we were so very worried the others had been squished, you see. It had certainly looked that way from our vantage point on the other knee.” Fili jumped in with. “So first available chance we got, the rest of us go haring over to the others, hoping they're all right.”

 

“And cuz amad would have rained holy hellfire all over uncle and Mister Dwalin if anything _really_ serious had happened to me and Fili.” Kili told both his cousins with a grin.

 

“You weren't there when Dis arrived – unholy hellfire and then some was rained down on th' mountain.” Dwalin grumbled as he tossed sticks on the fire.

 

“Anyway,” Bella loudly cut in before the situation could devolve into an argument of any sort, “The others had made it safely to us and discovered that we were all very much alive, intact and on the mountain. For the most part.”

 

“What's that mean?” Thora asked.

 

“Well, in the dark and chaos, I lost my footing, sweetheart, and... kind of slipped off the mountain path. And it took the Company a little while to notice, busy as they were in their relief and checking the physical well-being of their relations.

 

“Eventually, Bofur is the first to notice and it quickly followed their discovering my predicament. And glad I was too for those rocks were wet and slippery, and it was actually quite difficult to keep a grip.

 

“The others are trying to reach down to me, and I'm doing my best to reach up and grab the first hand I can, but it just is not happening. And then, your clod-headed father comes from nowhere, and – this is where the 'clod-headed' part comes in 00 jumped down onto the smallest possible foothold and shoves me up toward the others, slipping himself in the process.”

 

“Well, it wouldn't have done to lose our burglar before making it to Erebor.” Thorin said.

 

“No, it wouldn't have.” Bofure agreed. “Not to mention Gandalf would have had our b–“

 

“Yes, thank you, Bofur. The main thing to take away is that both your father and I did not fall off the mountain. And we managed to find a cave not very far up the path. But, we were not out of danger yet, though not one of us knew it. But, that part of the story shall have to wait until another night, for I see two little girls who need to go to bed.”

 

Thora and Eglantine put up a token protest, but it is a feeble one, and it's not long before they're tucked into their bedrolls.

 

The next day they make good time in the mountains, the paths are clearer and less steep then they had been. But come dark, after dinner has been consumed, both Thora and Eglantine are there clamoring for their mother to continue on with the story.

 

“Alright, can you two tell me where we left off last night?”

 

“You had found a cave–“

 

“And you was in daynjur–“

 

“'Were in danger,' Eglantine.” Thorin gently corrected.

 

“Oh. And you were in danger.”

 

“Ah, yes. So we manage to find this cave, out of the storm and big enough for all of us. No sense in going any farther, so we all set up our bedrolls and try to get some sleep.

 

“Only, I found I could not sleep. So I got up and was talking to Bofur, who had the watch at that time. As we are quietly talking, so as not to wake the others, Bofur stopped talking mid-sentence and his gaze fell to my waist.

 

“The sword Gandalf had given me at the troll hoard was _glowing_ , the light seeping out of the top of the scabbard. I pull the sword out a bit, it's glowing bright as anything. Bofur and Thorin started screaming at the others to wake up as this long seam began appearing in the floor. But it was all for naught and the lot of us went tumbling through and fell down this great chute.

 

“And before we could gain our bearings, we were set upon by this tide of goblins. The Company tried to fight, but it was no use for the goblins were too many. By some miracle, I was not swept up in the tide of goblins. I watched them carry the others off and resolved to follow, though I had not a single clue what I could even do to free them or... or anything.

 

“But before I could venture very far, this ruddy big goblin slams down in front of me. We fought – well, when I say 'fought' I mean it was more like the goblin was trying to kill me and I was flailing about and trying to prevent its nasty, rusty sword from filling me full of holes. Neither of us noticed how close we were to the edge until we went tumbling right over it.”

 

“Oh, no!” Thora and Eglantine cried out, faces aghast with horror.

 

“Yes, it was rather unpleasant falling down this great dark chasm. At some point, I could not precisely tell you when, I whacked my head on some rock and lost consciousness–“

 

“What's 'lost conshusness' mean?” Both girls wanted to know.

 

“It means... It means being made to sleep when you don't want to. Like when Asphodel fell at the mid-summer's eve party and hit her head last year, d'you remember?”

 

“Yes,” Thora replied while her sister went “No.”

 

“Well, that's what it means. I woke up, I don't know many minutes or hours later, alone. I found my sword under some old bones and rusty bits of armor, and it was still glowing so it was quite lucky I found it. So, there I was, not able to see a thing in this tunnel, except for what my sword is illuminating. The only way to go was forward – so I did. When you are in almost total darkness, you can lose all concept of time. I walked those tunnels for what felt like days, never coming across another soul.

 

“Then my luck turned. I came across this great underground cave and within it was a lake that had a little island in the middle that I could _just_ make out. I ran into the chap who was living there. He was... rather singular, probably from having been on his own for so long. I told him I was lost and he agreed to show me the way out if I played a game of riddles with him. I agreed, of course, because one does not easily turn down a game of riddles. And to give that strange creature its due, he gave me some riproaringly difficult riddles.”

 

“Tell us one!”

 

“Yes, momma, tell us!”

 

“Alright, alright. This one was a real corker: 'This thing all things devours: Birds, beasts, trees, flowers; Gnaws iron, bites steel; Grinds hard bones to meal; Slays king, ruins town, And beats high mountain down.”

 

The sweet part was watching both girls try and puzzle it out – Thora silently moving her fingers, an intense look of concentration upon her face, and Eglantine, who's mouth noiselessly formed words and who's brow had a little dent in the middle from how hard she was furrowing her brow.

 

“I give up.” is more or less what the girls say once they both individually come to the conclusion they can't get this one.

 

“The answer was 'time.'” Bella tells them. “That vexed this odd little man, for I believe he wanted to win, but I won the contest and he showed me the way to the backdoor of the goblin's realm, for those were the rules. And once I was out in the sunlight, I took off like a bottle rocket after the others. I found them not long after, trying to catch their breath. A moment was all we had for between one moment and the next we were all running down the slopes of the mountain with howls of vicious wargs pushing at our backs. And only too late do we realize we've reached the edge of a cliff.

 

“We all made undignified scrambles into the nearest pine tree and held on for dear life as wargs prowled underneath us, growling and barking, trying to jump up into the trees and rending these deep, awful claw marks in the bark for their efforts. So... vigorous were these wargs in their exertions they ripped one of the trees up, the roots pulled straight out of the ground. And that created this hellish scenario of each tree containing the Company got sent crashing into the next one, and there was some mad scrambling onto the closest weight-bearing branch, until all fifteen of us are in the last pine tree.

 

“And the wargs were ever persistent; until we began chucking flaming pine cones at them. They did not like it one bit – I saw a few running away with their flanks on fire. But the barrier of fire was going to keep them at bay only for so long. And just then, the pine tree gives way, falling so that most of us are scrambling and trying not to fall to their deaths.

 

“And this is where we reach the portion of the story I am going to call 'Exhibit A that your father has zero sense of self-preservation.'”

 

“Hey!”

 

“Tell me I'm wrong about that.”

 

Thorin chose instead to mutinously grumble under his breath and poke at the fire, sending a plume of sparks dancing into the air. Bella turned back to the story when it appeared that Thorin was going to stay stubbornly mute.

 

“Through a thin area of flame this massive, ugly white warg approached. Astride it's back was the biggest, ugliest thing I've ever seen – and I've seen Fili early in the morning.”

 

“OI!” Fili shouted in mock outrage while Kili, Nori and Bofur laughed themselves silly.

 

“Back to the story whilst your cousin finishes his fit. The orc grinned, and spoke in his own tongue – something guttural and utterly barbaric. And this is the part when your father does something utterly foolish – while we're all staring, dumbfounded, or trying not to fall from the tree, he gets up. He gets up and charges down the tree like a bull-head fool – oh, don't look at me like that, you know I'm right. I still can't decide if you charging Azog was bravely stupid or stupidly brave.”

 

“What of your actions?” Thorin challenged.

 

“Oh, that's easy: Bravely stupid.” Bella replied.

 

“What did you do momma?” Eglantine asked.

 

“Mind you, I don't recommend it, and I don't believe for one second that I would have gotten there first if others in the Company had been as well placed in the tree as I happened to be–“

 

“What your mother is waffling around the subject about is that your dad had been chewed on by the warg and your mum full-body tackled and then poked a whole lot of holes in the orc who was about to... relieve your father of his noggin.” Bofur butted in, cutting Bella off before her waffling could gain strength.

 

Both Thora and Eglantine engage in some rapid-fire back and forth looking between their parents.

 

“Nuh-uh.” Thora said, skeptical as anything.

 

“I promise ya, as the sky is blue and the grass green, your mom killed an orc and kept the most fearsome orc of this age at bay long enough for much of the Company to come barrelling in as back up. She's just too modest to say so.”

 

“Yes, thank you, Bofur. At any rate, if it hadn't been for Gandalf and the Giant Eagles, the lot of us would have died up on that cliff edge.”

 

“Giant Eagles? How big were they?”

 

“Many times larger than me, dear ones. And large enough to carry more than one dwarrow on their backs if they had to. They came flying in, picking up wargs and throwing them every which way, but mostly off the mountain. They also used their mighty wings to fan the flames to incredible levels very quickly and the Eagles also pushed down some of the remaining trees onto wargs and orcs.

 

“With the orc pack either dead or fled, the Eagles picked us all up and flew us away from the Misty Mountains. We flew for some time until they set us down on the Carrock and flew off again before anyone could so much as utter 'thank you.' Gandalf healed your father's injuries as much as his magic would allow. But I feel bold enough to hazard a guess that any aches and pains, bruises and cuts mattered not a whit when we caught the first glimpse of far off Erebor as the sun rose.”

 

“And you would be right.” Thorin replied, a soft look about his face for a moment as he remembered.

 

“But what about the Pale Orc? What happened to him?”

 

“That's a story for another day, Eglantine.” Thorin gently answered. “And your mother and her quick wit and bravery feature most prominently in it.”

 

“As it stands, this story is done. Which is most convenient, since I know two dwobbits who need to go to bed; it's past your bedtime.”

 

Everyone goes off in a manner of speaking as Bella and Thorin (who has Eglantine clinging to him a bit like a limpet) get the girls into their bedrolls.

 

“Mummy, will you tell us about the Pale Orc tomorrow after supper?” Thora asked as Bella tucked her in.

 

“No, Thora. That is a tale you nor your sister will hear until you are a good few years older. I would not tell you for all the tarts in the Shire.”

 

“Ok, momma.” Thora replied, letting the matter drop and snuggling into her bedroll.

 

“Good night, Thora.” Bella said, planting a kiss on her daughter's forehead.

 

“G'night, 'mad.” She sleepily replied.

 

And when Bella went to bid Eglantine a good night she got a sleepy “You're a real good storyteller, 'mad.”

 

“Thank you, Eglantine.” Bella said, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek. “Now close your eyes and sleep, sweetheart.”

 

As Bella settled into her own bedroll and the already quiet camp got even quieter, she had an idle thought. She was glad her daughters were yet young enough that there were years to go before they had to tell or would be asked to tell Thora and Eglantine the unvarnished truth. Of course they – Thorin and Bella – wouldn't lie about actions such as the ones skirted around today. If the day came when the girls asked to be told the next part of the story, it wouldn't be easy for anyone, nor was it likely to be pretty (so to speak) but they would be told. Lying had gotten everyone in enough trouble as it was.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lagbur -- containing tongue  
> Album -- clean  
> The line is basically supposed to be a version of "Tell them the clean version?"


	7. The Earliest of Early Morning Feels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a short bit of fluff in regards to some super cuteness that happens early in the morning.

Bella awoke slowly a few mornings later. They were about half a day's walk from the Carrock, having made it to the peak of it about mid-day. The day had been bright and clear, Balin made a remark about the weather being so fine was a good stroke of luck.

 

_Bella stared with the rest of them at the distant smudge on the horizon that she knew was Erebor. It had been six years since she had last seen the Lonely Mountain._

 

“ _That there is our home, Erebor. The largest and wealthiest of the seven dwarrow kingdoms.” Thorin pointed, kneeling down so he was more on level with Thora and Eglantine._

 

“ _It's so far away, papa; are we ever going to get there?”_

 

“ _We've made it more than halfway already and before you know it we'll be riding through Erebor's front gates.”_

 

A chorus of birds chirping a rather sweet melody kept Bella from slipping back to sleep. And as the camp slowly began to awaken around her, Bella realized she would need to get up fairly soon.

 

But seeing Erebor the previous afternoon had brought up a wealth of emotions for Bella and not all of them had been good ones either. Perforce, she hadn't slept well last night and was a little loath to move, even if she needed to. Bella's hand moved to grasp the blanket when her hand brushes something soft. Bella actually sat up, smiling when she picked up a little nose gay of some wild cosmos and daisies and delphiniums.

 

“What...?” Bella looked at the flowers again and lifted them to her nose to smell them. It was a pleasant little surprise to wake up to.

 

“That's a lovely little thing.” Bella whispered to no one in particular, reaching for her bag and pinning the nose gay to the lapel.

 

She rises from her bedroll and rolled it up and attached it to her pack. And stopped. What had before been obscured by the wrapped up lump that was a still sleeping Bifur was revealed. Thorin was asleep on his back on his bedroll and both Eglantine and Thora were sprawled out on their father's chest. Thora had her face mashed up into the underside of Thorin's jaw, forcing his head back to an extreme angle that looked in no way comfortable.

 

Bella couldn't help it, she stood there and watched them sleep, a little ball of warmth settling in her chest and spreading outward. Bella isn't too aware of the time, so she's not sure how long she stands there watching, but she starts a bit after a gentle touch at her elbow. Turning, she comes face to face with a smiling, slightly amused Nori.

 

“Here, some mint tea; Dori made it.” Nori pressed the warm, steaming mug into Bella's hands.

 

“Thank you, Nori.” Bella responded, smiling back at the dwarf.

 

“Perhaps we should also use the hot water to make a hot water bottle for Thorin.” Nori said next, his eyes twinkling as he pointed at Thorin with his chin.

 

Bella chuckled as she brought the mug up to her lips. “Think we should inform everyone to avoid Thorin today?”

 

“Nahhhh.” Nori decided after a moment's contemplation. “His thunder brows will do that for 'im.”

 

“What are you two quietly – rather too quietly – conferencing about at this early – oh, I see. That is a sweet picture.” Dor declared, quickly moderating the volume of his voice.

 

Eglantine chose that moment to wiggle up Thorin's chest in her sleep and end up with a mouthful of beard for her efforts.

 

Smothering a laugh by finishing her tea, Bella handed off the empty mug, grabbed a few things from her pack and stepped forward.

 

“Come on, sweetheart, it's time to get up.” Bella softly cajoled her little girl as she picked her up off of Thorin.

 

Eglantine just wordlessly whined, eyes still closed, and attempted to turn over in Bella's arms in search of more body heat.

 

Bella smiled indulgently and readjusts Eglantine so the little girl can wrap her arms around Bella's neck and snuggle and get comfortable.

 

As she heads into the trees, Bella can just register the voices of Dori and Nori and the higher pitch that is Thora.

 

“Thora just kicked papa in the face. On accident.” Eglantine slowly, sleepily mumbled in Bella's ear.

 

“Ah, well, your father will live.” Bella breezily replied. “Being kicked by a five year old isn't the worst thing, isn't even the most embarrassing thing that's happened to him this week.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really really. Now, to a quick bath before breakfast.”

 

“Nooooooooooo!”

 


	8. “Why's That Doggy Walking on Two Legs, Fi?”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thorin's fears over Beorn and his reaction to Thora and Eglantine turn out to be pretty darn baseless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I originally meant for this chapter to be about the Company, or a few members of it at any rate, overreact with the worst case scenarios about Beorn reacting to Bella and her children. It morphed into... not entirely that. Also, 'kit' is what a baby rabbit is called -- I did not know that.

“No.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“No. Absolutely not.”

 

“Thorin, there is no harm in it!”

 

“N- No harm in it?! Do you not recall his behavior to you when last we passed through his lands!?”

 

“Oh, here we go. Your father's going to lose this fight.” Bofur said in a conversational aside to the girls.

 

Bella and Thorin had been arguing for the last ten minutes on whether or not they would be going to Beorn's. The others had been sitting on the sidelines watching and eating a late breakfast.

 

“Aye, and knowing their tempers, this will get a bit ugly,” Balin agreed, wandering over. “Eglantine, Thora, how about we go see if we can find some mushrooms to have with lunch?”

 

“Capital idea, Balin.” Fili declared, hopping up from the ground. “Don't worry, we'll run them by your mum before we try eating them.”

 

Dwarrow and elves alike melted away into the surrounding trees as the girls were led far out of hearing range. Bella and Thorin continued on, completely oblivious to the disappearance of everyone in the name of tact.

 

“Yes, I do in point of fact recall his behavior! I also recall the behavior of thirteen dwarrow, too! I _also_ distinctly remember hearing someone get thwacked by Gandalf's stick as well!”

 

“That is the point! You cannot ask em to be alright with taking the girls – my children, too – anywhere near that skinchanger!”

 

Bella sucked in a deep breath through pursed lips and held up her pointer finger. “One: The only reason Beorn was so blatant with his solicitousness was because he could clearly see how much it was grating on you lot, truculent as you are, and he found it amusing. Two: I was never in danger of being kept there, or whatever other foolish nonsense you lot were cooking up in your skulls. And three: You are being stupidly stubborn about this. _Stupidly stubborn._ We are far too many to even hope – as you clearly do – of passing through Beorn's lands without him noticing!”

 

“The elves –“ Thorin's eyes darted around the forest as if by mentioing them the elves would appear.

 

“Can do nothing. Beorn is a skinchanger, with sense far more sensitive than either of ours. And when he shifts into a bear, how much more sensitive do you think his sense are? It is _rude_ to not even so much as go by his home and let him know we are passing through.”

 

Thorin gripped at his hair in frustration. “Bella, whether or not he means or never meant any harm – he is a skinchanger. Beorn is not fully man or beast. He. Is. Dangerous.”

 

“Yes, yes Beorn is dangerous. To his _enemies_. To them he is death personified and so are his people. And I didn't think I would have to point this out but clearly I have to – Beorn is an ally! He is an ally and a father too, and you speak of him as if he broke bread with orcs and goblins on a daily basis!”

 

“Nowhere is it written that I have – wait, Beorn has children?”

 

Bella let out a heavy snort as she folded her arms across her chest. “Yes. Gandalf told me of this when he visited me and the girls, year before last. He and his mate and his two children – a boy and a girl – live in that great house of his.”

 

“Well, that's... that's...”

 

Bella watched Thorin. He was very clearly grasping at straws and it amused her to watch him flounder a bit.

 

“Yes?” Bella asked, drawing the word out a mite sarcastically.

 

“That's all the more reason not to go, then. We would be a very large distraction and drain on resources.”

 

“ _Thorin,_ ” Bella groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose. “that is an invalid, flimsy, weak, full of horse shit excuse and you know it.”

 

“No, it isn't.”

 

“I get that you have this, this, this desire to protect the girls from anything that could harm them but this is too much. Even if it's only for a night, we are going and that is the final word I am saying on the matter.”

 

Thorin's thunder brows came into full effect then. And his mood did not improve when the others returned some time later with a woman with long brown hair and lithe limbs limned with sinewy muscles. If Bella had to guess, this woman was of a height with Beorn.

 

“Bella, Uncle. This is –“

 

“I am Hildred, wife of Beorn.” Hildred interrupted Kili to speak for herself. So, she appeared to be as blunt and straight to the point as her husband.

 

Bella smacked her hands together, to work off the majority of the flour she had been using in her preparation for lunch, and stood up.

 

“Bella Baggins, at your service.”

 

The woman looked down at Bella and smiled at her, a soft, gentle smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes.

 

“Well met, Mistress Baggins.” Hildred replied. “My Beorn heard you coming and sent me to you. There is space enough to house the lot of you, so you can rest awhile.”

 

“That is most kind of Beorn, thank you.” Bella answered, since a side-eye glance at Thorin made it abundantly clear that he was going to be petulant about this and make no response. “We'll gather up our things and follow you as soon as we can.”

 

Hildred inclined her head once. “As you say. We will be waiting.”

 

Within the hour, the camp is packed up and they are making their way through the forest. The girls are nattering away to Gloin and a few other dwarrow, and under the higher pitch of their voices Bella can hear Balin chastising Thorin in fast-paced Khuzdul.

 

Bella did not dare turn around, but she caught Kili's eye and turned her head away with haste, lest they both burst out laughing. The situation was a bit comical, in an exhausting sort of way.

 

Gandalf and Bella had not passed near enough to Beorn's on the return journey, so the last time Bella had not seen Beorn's beautiful garden since the Company had passed through the first time.

 

It was a little different this time around, Bella reflected. There were a great deal more people around, and the emotions of the situation were different too. There was less fear of the unknown this time around. And the excitement levels were generally higher this time, too.

 

They ended up walking through the paddock gate, after the horses and ponies had been seen to and relieved of their burdens.

 

Bella had Eglantine by the hand as they filed up the path to the house. Fili was holding Thora by the hand and looked to be haing some trouble keeping his tiny cousin under control. Thora was dragging Fili this way and that to look at flowers bordering the path.

 

“Twenty gold says that one ends up taking after her mother,” Bella heard one dwarf behind them.

 

“Targ Durinul, ollikh mên gulukh thurnu? Binadlân...”

 

Kili snorted and leaned in, whispering a translation when he saw Bella trying to puzzle out the words, slowly mouthing them.

 

Bella was quick to smother a laugh behind her hand. The coming years were not likely to lack for entertainment in words or deed, that was certain.

 

Beorn was waiting for them, standing on the top step of the porch, a little girl with eyebrows that hinted at fierceness in the future (and looked a little like her father's, truth be told) stood at his side, clutching his trouser leg in one small hand.

 

Bella heard a giggle from around the side of the house, followed shortly by a bleat. Beorn swung his little one up into his arms and came down the steps to greet company.

 

“It seems the Little Bunny had kits of her own; much has changed since we saw each other last.” Beorn spoke first, his voice still just as deep and booming as Bella remembered.

 

“Indeed, much has changed.” Bella returned the greeting, also returning Beorn's nod.

 

“Ah, and I see you have healed from your wounds Thorin Oakensh–“

 

“Why's that doggy walking on two legs, Fi?” Thora blurted out, interrupted the greetings (without really meaning to).

 

“Never let it be said that my children are the souls of tact – or, one of them at least. Thora, I know the animals are a bit... startling at first, but that does not mean you interrupt when other people are talking.”

 

“Okay, momma.”

 

Beorn's eyes are twinkling with ill-concealed amusement by the time Bella looked back up.

 

“As spirited as her parents.”

 

“Thank you.” Thorin replied, his tone _slightly_ too formal sounding, though he was polite enough.

 

“But you did not come here to stand on the porch exchanging pleasantries all day,” Hildred tactfully inserted into the conversation. “We have not room enough for all your number to slumber under our roof, I am afraid.”

 

“It's quite alright, Lady Hildred.” Balin answered with his most charming smile. “We are as accustomed as one can be to sleeping outdoors for now.”

 

“Aye, perhaps you are, Master Dwarf, but it is going to rain on the morrow.” Hildred informed the group at large. “You'll not be very comfortable traveling whilst soaked to the bone.”

 

It was sorted out in the end, though, and Bella had a new respect for Hildred – a subtle diplomat, far more subtle then the dwarrow and elves realized, Bella thinks.

 

A sort of winter shelter had been built for all the wood that would be needed to heat the great house and feed the cook fires over the course of the coming winter. It was large, as they saw when Beorn showed them to it, and with as many people staying in the house as was comfortable, there would be space enough for the rest.

 

Thora and Eglantine had been introduced to Beorn's animals (carefully) and Beorn had himself wonderfully explained why the animals sometimes walked around on two feet and how they did things other animals like them could not. And with his two children there, a hearty young lad named Bern and his fierce little girl named Freyja, Bella had the notion that seeing how calmly the adults around them, and especially two children of a similar age, reacted to the animals made their own initial reactions much better then her own had been.

 

After supper, and after the moon had risen and dark had truly fallen, Bella left her girls by the fire playing with Bern and Freyja and went to go smoke a pipe on the porch. The cool, crisp evening air felt rather pleasant on Bella's overheated skin as she settled herself on the top step, crossing her legs before putting her smoking things in her lap.

 

And gets the fright of her life (it feels like) when she spotted someone sitting on the opposite side of the steps.

 

“Oh, pardon me! I hadn't realized anyone else was out here.”

 

“'Sfine.” The shadow responded, moving and revealing itself to be Dwalin. “Not my porch to say who can go where.”

 

“Quite.” Bella frostily agreed, resolving to speak no further to Dwalin for the duration of the evening, lest they start fighting, and just smoke her pipe in quiet.

 

So, Bella sat there and stared out into the dark forest, only making noise when she blew out some pipe smoke.

 

Dwalin goes back inside when Bella is maybe halfway through her pipe. She's alone for a while longer afterwards, finishing her pipe, tapping out the ashes and making sure any errant embers are out before stowing her pipe away in her coat. Bella is simply sitting there, enjoying the evening and the fact that she doesn't need to head back indoors right this very second when she hears hooves clacking upon the wood.

 

“Oh, good evening.” Bella greeted the new arrival.

 

The sheep quietly 'baa-ed' a greeting of its own and motioned to a securely fastened tray hanging around its neck. On it stood a mug of gently steaming hot, spiced wine, if Bella's nose knew its business. And a neatly folded blanket.

 

“Oh, thank you! That's so kind of you to bring me a drink and a blanket.” Bella said, appreciative and thankful, as she took the aforementioned items, tossing the blanket loosely around herself before taking a sip of the wine.

 

“Oh, this is _nice_ ,” Bella sighed as that first sip lit a warm path down her throat and into her belly. “My compliments to whichever of your fellows made this drink.”

 

The sheep beamed at Bella and baa-ed once more before trotting back into the house.

 

It was... different here, Bella reflected as she nursed her mug (don't want the wine going straight to her head, of course). Yes, it was different, and not in the least because of the children. Children made everything different. But thus far it was a good sort of different. And not a single dwarrow had yet to stick their foot in it. Ah... but there was still time before they left, yes?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I crib together a sentence in Khuzdul and once I again, I reiterate that this is a giiiiiiiiiiiiiant pain in the arse to do so. The sentence “Targ Durinul, ollikh mên gulukh thurnu? Binadlân...” translated is “Durin's Beard, how foolish you are to make a kind of venture like that? It's without challenge...”
> 
> Durin's Beard [Singular Compound Proper Noun] Targ Durinul  
> art (skill, or ability) of (the) fool (idiot, oaf) (folly / stupidity) [Construction of Capability (oCCiC) / SINGULAR] ollikh  
> you (familiar masculine/neuter - plural) [Personal Pronouns (Irregular) / Plural - Nominative] mên  
> kind [ADJECTIVE TYPE 3 (CuCuC) / ADJECTIVE] gulukh  
> venture [NOUN TYPE 4 (CuCCu) / SINGULAR - Absolute State] thurnu  
> challengeless / without challenge [NOUN TYPE 10 (bin-aCCâC) / ADJECTIVE] binadlân
> 
> Long story short: You're an idiot if you think I'll take a sucker bet like that.


	9. Dwarrow Don't Really Do Simple Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What it says on the tin -- I'm sure you all know which dwarrow is doing the apologizing. :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was given a once over by my bestie trtltot who told me there was nothing wrong with it when I felt like there was -- it was a bit of a couldn't see the forest for the trees situation.

They had been at Beorn's for almost a week and a half. It had rained three days straight out of the seven, and now hteir stay looked to be of a slightly longer duration then previously planned – Eglantine and Bern had snuck outside while it was raining particularly hard one afternoon and both were now suffering with head colds for it.

 

Both children, thank the Valar, were over the hump of this cold. The morning sun rising over the tree tops alights on Bella in Beorn's garden picking some more echinacea – the flower combined with oil Hildred had extracted from these odd, waxy green leaves made a rather good decongestant in steam. Bella clipped a few more stems and tossed them into the basket sitting next to her knee. Moving the empty jar before it can crush the echinacea brings the thought to Bella's mind that her next stop should be the beehives – to collect more honey for the tea that had become a quick staple in the children's treatment.

 

The walk to the beehives takes Bella within sight of the front porch of the house. Some members of both the Company and the Coalition litter the porch. A few are smoking their pipes, some reading and a few are doing some sort of busywork with their hands. Dwalin, Bella noted, is one of the ones doing some type of work. He's sitting perched up on the railing, with... something in his lap. Balin, who is sitting just below his brother on top of a barrel, is reading a book and occasionally handing some tool to Dwalin without looking up from the pages of his book.

 

Maybe it's the sound of her feet reading the path, crunching the occasional leaf that's fallen off its tree early. Or maybe it's just something else entirely, but both brothers raise their heads; Balin smiled and called out a “Good morning” to her and Dwalin nodded once. The fact that Dwalin had nodded at her and hadn't looked even remotely hostile threw Bella for such a loop that she nearly forgot to return Balin's greeting.

 

Bella did manage to return the greeting through, and she managed to gather enough honey from the apiaries (those bees were ever so helpful in that regard) to replenish the store in the house. By the time the sun had risen to its zenith in the sky, the air had warmed enough to where the parents had mutually decided some warmth and fresh air might do Eglantine and Bern some good.

 

Between them Beorn and Hildred hoist up and carry the table out into the garden while the dwarrow and elves carry out benches and chairs. It's a cozy meal; since there's no way that all of them will fit at the table it's more a buffet with people sitting on benches or the ground as it pleases them.

 

Bella is sitting with her legs crossed on the ground on the ground, her back to a rather fragrant bunch of stocks. Eglantine, who is sitting in Bifur's lap nearby, seems at first much more intent on making Bifure try every single green thing on his plate and hers. Conversely, Thora attacked her plate as if it had been days and days since she had seen food (instead of maybe 2 hours). There was something so... dwarrow in the way Thora did it that Bella found herself remembering that long ago dinner in Bag End.

 

“How much longer do you think you will be traveling on the road to Erebor?” Bella overhead Beorn asking Thorin.

 

“Perhaps another month or so; We are making good time, even taking the girls into consideration.”

 

“You are perhaps thinking of returning to the road soon?”

 

“Not until her mother and I and Oin are completely certain of Eglantine's recovery from her cold.”

 

Any other conversation Bella ended up missing by way of the tap she received on her shoulder shortly thereafter. Looking up reveals it to be Balin; he motioned for Bella to follow him, saying aloud for the group at large to hear that he wants her thoughts on something.

 

“Forgive an old dwarf this little deception. I simply thought it would be easier this way.”

 

“What would be easier?” Bella asked, genuinely confused.

 

“I think it 'twould be better if I let my occasionally erstwhile brother explain that himself. If you'll excuse me.”

 

Before Bella has a chance to object, Balin scurried away as Dwalin rounded the corner by the apiaries.

 

“What's going on?” Bella asked Dwalin.

 

“Di'n't want an audience for this.” Dwalin mumbled, shuffling his feet and not makin eye contact.

 

“An audience for _what_?”

 

“I thought I'd apologize,” the grimace that twisted up Dwalin's face was truly the stuff of legend. “And I thought I'd do it... out... out here... in the... green stuff, cuz you're a hobbit... and green's are important to your people.”

 

This was possibly the most endearing (and awkward) Bella had ever seen Dwalin. And that included catching him (literally) with his hand in her cookie jar.

 

“Oh.” Bella certainly hadn't been expecting an apology from Dwalin, of all things.

 

“I've been the... the biggest sort of arse imaginable. Mah parents would not have been... happy with me and mah unforgivable behavior. I've had... A LOT of time to think things over. And... you were right. Always were, I s'pose. Thora and Eglantine should come first, and y'din't know Thorin was gettin' better, him being a right twat after the battle and all. So... I'm sorry. Both for what I've said and how I've been acting.”

 

Bella accepted his apology with all seemly alacrity. She had always liked Dwalin once she'd gotten used to him, his brisk (bordering on the brusque at times) manner, and, once she was _far_ removed from the situation, Bella could see where Dwalin had been coming from. Sort of. That didn't mean Bella could not get annoyed at the memory if or when it appeared in her thoughts, of course she got irritated by it. But. Dwalin was apologizing and trying to make things right. Move on from this they could and would.

 

“Oh, and, I made this. These. For the girls.” Dwalin picked up a bundle of cloth up off a stump he was standing near and held it out to Bella.

 

“What's this?” Bella asked, curious.

 

“Unwrap it and see.” Was Dwalin's cryptic non-response.

 

Her curiosity sufficiently piqued, Bella picked up the bundle and carefully pulled back the cloth. And she gasped.

 

“Dwalin, is this...?”

  
“Mithril? Aye, 'tis.”

 

“Where in Mahal's name did you – _the troll hoard._ ”

 

“Aye. I found two boxes of already made mithril wire. Almost had to knock the block off an Ered Luin dwarf for it.”

 

“Look at these rings; how on earth did you make all these between then and now? These are both so good, so closely worked...” Bella could not believe what she was looking at – two very finely worked mithril mail shirts.

 

“Balin's been helping me make the rings at night and while we rode. Most of the links got made back in Rivendell and once I had the little one's measurements, I could start the crafting.”

 

“Dwalin, thank you. This is a wonderful gift. I love it, the girls... well, they're still a little too young to fully understand, but I appreciate this and so will Thorin.”

 

“It's not quite finished, mind you. I have panels to add to the shirts for when the girls grow. And it's butted mail right now, I've got some work to do on it yet.”

 

“Dare I ask what 'butted mail' means?”

 

“Do y'see here how the rings touch, but are not fully closed?” Dwalin held up a shirt for Bella's inspection, pointing to a section of rings.

 

“Yes.”

 

“That's butted mail. If 'twere riveted, I'd be using tiny nails to secure the rings together. If welded – which I might end up doing once we're back in Erebor – each ring would end up looking seamless.”

 

“Ah, I understand now. Come, let's see how these fit the girls.” Bella re-wrapped the shirts and took them from Dwalin and lead the way back.

 

The others were still eating lunch, apparently hever having noticed the absence of two whose interactions had taken a rather acrimonious turn of late.

 

“Thora, Eglantine, come here, please; Mr. Dwalin needs to see if these fit you.”

 

That sentence was sufficiently odd enough, apparently, to attract attention since several curious heads perked upa t this.

 

“What's going on, auntie?”

 

“All in good time, imp,” Bella responded, kneeling down in front of her just arrived (and equally curious) children.

 

“Will it 'splode?” Eglantine asked, looking like nothing would please her more.

 

“No.” Is Dwalin's perfunctory answer. But at the sight of Thora and Eglantine's quickly fallen faces (especially Eglantine's) he hastened to add “That comes when you're a bit older.”

 

“We're going to try these on over your clothes today, but in the future, both of you will wear these shirts under your clothing, okay?”

 

“Oooooooooh, shiny.” Thora said, reaching a small hand out to brush the mail hanging off her mother's hand.

 

“Arms up.” Bella commanded, helping Thora get it over her head without snagging her hair in it, while Dwalin helped out Eglantine.

 

“What do you think of the fit?” Bella asked Dwalin surveiled the shirts with a critical eye.

 

“I'm thinkin a minor adjustment in the under arms and both girls should be able to wear them well underneath their clothes.”

 

But before Bella can even think of saying “Take the shirts off, girls,” a ginger blur swept into the picture.

 

Ori launched himself at Dwalin, kissing him hard before dragging the bigger dwarf into the woods without so much as a “By your leave” to everyone else.

 

“Well...” Bella said, exhaling a big breath as she spoke.

 

“See? I told you Mister Ori liked Mister Dwalin like Prim and Drogo like each ovver.” Thora, smug in a way only a child who has been proven right can be, said to her sister.

 

Bella turned at a noise from behind and was witness to a twin apoplectic display from pole-axed Dori and Nori.

 

“What? You two didn't know Dwalin and Ori were... an item?” bella mildly inquired – with a giant grin.

 

“WHA'!?” Nori exclaimed, staring at Bella like she had personally betrayed him.

 

“You knew?!?!” Dori cried. “You knew and did not say a word about it?!”

 

“Of course not. For one thing, it was not my secret to tell,” Bella explained as she divested first one child and then the other of their mithril shirts. “And for another, Ori is a grown up who can make his own choices and choose his partner for himself. And if – _Nori, get your backside back to the table or I will ask one of the sheep to sit on you!_ – And if Dwalin makes your brother happy, who are you to gainsay that? Gainsay them?”

 

“Well said, Bella, well said. But how are you the only one who knew?” Thorin asked.

 

“Dwalin and Ori possess more guile and cunning than you'd think.” Bella responded with a secretive little smile and would say no more than that on the subject.

 


	10. A Little Diversion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little day of fun turns out to be necessary on the journey.

The days that stretched one into another as they inched ever closer to Erebor were... pleasant. Even as the days were assuredly getting colder the farther east they traveled, there was still a certain warmth in the air.

 

Day number umpteen on the road dawns and could correctly be categorized as the last, dying gasp of summer. It is noticeably warmer then it had been a day previously. And while this sudden burst of warmth is nice, it is serving to make both Eglantine and Thora cranky and more than a little obstinate. By extension this means also that the pair are driving their parents (and everyone else) nuts.

 

After Thora's second attempted meltdown in as many hours (because Eglantine stood on her toes with her heel), Bella feels her nerves and her grip on her temper fraying; the children's behavior they cannot be entirely blamed for and they are not behaving in such a manner intentionally. But by Yavanna's garden it's getting difficult to keep her patience.

 

Relief, blessed relief is brought by a scout. Bella's just handed the girls the water skins because they were claiming thirst, when a scout emerged from the trees near Thorin.

 

Bella pricked her ears up and picks up snatches of conversation under and over her own daughter's nattering speech.

 

“...found something over in...”

 

“It's a little area...”

 

“Nice and cool...” That one had come with a pointed look at Eglantine and Thora.

 

Thorin shared the look with the scout and then nodded at the man.

 

“Thank you.” Thorin responded to the scout. Pulling his pony up and letting loose a shout to gather the group's attention.

 

“This scout has informed me that he and his fellows have discovered a glade not far from here. We are going there at once to take refuge from this miserable day.”

 

“Oh, thank _Mahal_.” Kili exclaimed to the sky. “It is wretchedly uncomfortable today.”

 

They immediately strike up the trail and then make their way off the trail and into the trees. It's a matter of only an hour or so before they break through the tree line and the girls' mood is instantly transported when they spot the pool.

 

The situation is a lovely one, Bella thinks. There are mature trees aplenty (naturally), throwing out plenty of nice, cool shade. And the river that they've glimpsed every now and again (and bathed in every now and again) on their travels comes through the area. Which helps to keep the air cool, in congress with the trees and their bountiful shade, now that Bella thinks about it.

 

But, the piece de resistance is the pool. Set in a corner of the glade that receives both sun and shade is a shallow pool, the bottom lined and littered with pebbles worn round and smooth over the ages. An it appears shallow enough that the girls can paddle and splash (with adult supervision, of course) instead of being held aloft by someone.

 

“Amad, can we play in the pool, can we play in the pool?”

 

“Yes, yes you may.” Bella said, smiling as the girls let out these whoops and start immediately running for the pool while trying to divest themselves from their clothing.

 

Thank the gods for this glade, truly. The entire group has spread out up and down the river from the pool. Bella has staked a claim under the boughs of a large deciduous. From her comfortable spot, Bella can look up from her book every so often when her children's delighted shrieks or cries draws her attention. And she's been joined by Balin with his own book, and Ori and Dwalin – who have their heads together over Ori's sketchbook, talking about something.

 

Bella idly has a thought about pulling together a light meal when a great furor sounds from downstream. Finger marking her place in the book, Bella levers herself up, wondering what's happened.

 

There's some rustling of leaves, snapping twigs and then a cackling dwarf bursts out of the underbrush, naked as the day he was born and carrying a misshapen bundle of clothes.

 

“Uzbad. Zainuzbad.” The dwarf nods once at Thorin and Bella before continuing on his mad dash.

 

Not far behind him, as it turns out, is an equally naked (but almost frothingly angry) elf, yelling insults, curses and promises of retribution in equal measure.

 

As the pair disappear back into the forest, the glade is silent. Dwalin is the first to break that silence.

 

“Huh. Who knew elves could lose their shit just like the rest of us?”

 

And every dwarrow in the clearing, to a man, proceeds to lose it with the laughter. Both at the spectacle they've just witnessed and Dwalin for talking like he was doing nothing more than making a comment on the weather.

 

Bella shared in their amusement it had been rather funny – when her brain short circuits.

 

Thorin, who had been playing in the pool with the girls, boosts Eglantine out of said pool. And once her daughter has moved out of the way Bella is treated to an unobstructed view of a soaking wet, topless Thorin. Hence, the power outage upstairs – so to speak.

 

Bella practically throws herself into her book before Thorin or anyone else can see, holding it in front of her face. And she privately vows to not move the book until the inferno that has taken up residence in her cheeks has abated.

 

Trying to think of something, _anything_ , to take her mind off the vision of her soaking wet, half-naked ex-lover, Bella's thoughts hit upon the following idea:

 

She wonders if the elves are aware of what exactly the willingness of the dwarrow to be naked in front of others that are not of their people or very close family means and, oh, that is not helping. Not. At. ALL.

 


	11. Over the River and Through the Woods, to the Edge of Mirkwood We Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Coalition runs into some welcome familiar faces. And some unwelcome unfamiliar ones...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This would have been posted last night, but, alas, technical difficulties prevented it from happening. But! I am back and plotting out the next chapter today!
> 
> EDIT: I totally forgot (because I wanted to get this up so fucking bad) that I wanted to say this chapter was written and finished by listening to Taylor Davis' 'Star Wars Medley' on repeat, watching Murder, She Wrote, and with the support of my bestie and beta.

At last, at long, long last, the journey was nearly done.

 

They had remained vigilant, especially after the first incident with the Ironfists, but now Bella was allowing herself to relax a bit since Mirkwood was within sight. Yavanna and Mahal both knew that the elves and the dwarrow of the Coalition had not relaxed; if anything their bearing had gained more tension, more severity.

 

Bella felt that she really should have known better, in retrospect. Nearly four months on the road and only the one kidnapping attempt by the Ironfists?

 

(It turns out Bella _really_ should have know better.)

 

She hears the whispers amongst the men, of course, but real detail is suddenly hard to come by; to a man they clam up when they realize Bella can hear them.

 

Bella finally resolved to tracking Thorin down one night as they made camp. With doggedness that would have amused her mother, Bella comes upon Thorin a short distance from everyone.

 

“Thorin, I was wondering if I could – what are you doing?”

 

The dwarrow king jerked up into a standing position like he's been jabbed with a hot poker.

 

“I was... I was retying my boots. Yes, I was retying my boots; the laces had come loose.”

 

Bella cocked an eyebrow at this, a flimsy excuse if she had ever heard one. And she's heard a few doozies in her day – why, she's even uttered a few herself.

 

“The girls wanted to make flower crowns; I was volunteered to go and gather enough flowers.” Thorin finally admitted after a long moment of the silent staring treatment (with bonus quirked eyebrow!).

 

“Oh. That's not so bad. Also nothing to be embarrassed about.”

 

“Ah, quite. Did you – Did you need something?”

 

“Yes, I wanted – need, really – to have a word with you.”

 

“What about?”

 

“Oh, I don't know – Perhaps about why everyone, both dwarrow and elvish, clams up when talking about the suspicious lack of Ironfist activity we've seen ever since leaving Hobbiton. It takes the dwarrow longer to shut up when they realize I can hear them than it did the elves, but still. Why the secrecy? And if you say some utter nonsense about... about feminine fragility or not wanting to scare me or the girls – which, alright, actually keeping all this secret from the girls is very much a-okay with me – but anyway! I'm not joking I hear one half-syllable of tripe like that and I shall cut up more than a little nasty. May even have to get the skillet involved.”

 

Thorin fidgeted for a bit, appeared to be fighting laughter and a smile in equal parts (which left him looking a bit constipated, to be truthful).

 

“I fear, then, that I may have to yell out before you return to camp to hide the skillet before you are able to grasp it.”

 

“Oh, those sn–“

 

“I cannot claim to speak for them all, but I imagine that some of them at least amongst the dwarrow are... are perhaps, er, plotting scenarios and battle plans that they know you, being of a less... warlike people, might not be entirely comfortable with or approve of.”

 

“Really, now.” Bella deadpanned, her tone dryer than the law tomes in Argyle Brownlock's office back in the Shire. “And was it another Belladonna Baggins who went on that mad cap quest? Do they perhaps think me a changeling, a more delicate creature swapped for the hardy hobbit who traipsed across Middle Earth risking life, limb, and on more than one occasion my sanity?”

 

“Bella, Bella,” Thorin jumped in before Bella could continue further, hoping to stem the rising tide of her anger. “I will speak to them about this, I promise. I will make them see how foolish they were being and I will get them to be less tight-lipped. Around you, at least.”

 

“Thank you,” Bella sniffed, a little bit mollified. “It's something. It was more than a little infuriating, I can tell you, to be treated as this very odd combination of child-slash-pariah.”

 

“The others meant nothing ill by it, of that I am sure.”

 

There's a very odd sort of tension in the group after Thorin had promised Bella that he would tell the others to be less secretive. Bella had been hopeful that some of this mounting tension would dissipate, but each sunrise that came and went with no attack just made it feel all the more worse.

 

The Ironfists were vicious bastards, they had proven that well enough before they had ever left the Shire. What in the devil were they waiting for?

 

(What they were waiting for only becomes more apparent afterward. Long afterward.)

 

When the sun is near it's peak position in the sky, they come 'round a bend in the road right before the road they were on – the Old Forest Road – entered them into Mirkwood. And before anyone can so much as draw the breath to exclaim any sort of surprise, Kili (who had Thora sitting in front of him) has put his boot heels hard to his pony's flanks, spurring her forward, whoops of joy mixing with his young cousin's warbling cries as she's bounced about in the saddle.

 

“I hope everyone has prepared a bag within which to vomit.” Fili drawled, a certain look of brothelry disgust clear on his face.

 

“I repeat the same to everyone else when they see who else has come with Kili's lady,” Balin says, with a twinkle in his eye. And then –

 

“SIGRID!” And there goes Fili, suddenly miles ahead of everyone else in the party.

 

“Can someone just beat me over the head with something so I don't have t'see this?” Dwalin complained as they closed in on the... enthusiastic reunions. “'m not picky; anything with weight'll do.”

 

Thorin opined about his nephews and their pick of partners until someone (Bella) thew a water skin in his face.

 

“Hello, hi, yes, just wanted to get your attention for a moment to point out that those who live in glass mountains – _and have children who are half-hobbit and half-dwarf_ – should not throw stones.”

 

“She has a very good point, Your Majesty.” Dwalin smugly cut in, guffawing at the dirty look Thorin shot him.

 

“She has a very good point, Your Majesty.” Thorin mocked in a high pitched voice, finishing the childish display by pulling a face.

 

Bella put her heels lightly to her pony's flanks, gently encouraging the animal to trot a little faster, lest the others see how close she was to laughing at something that seemed so out of place, but yet so normal at the same time for two dwarrow who have known each other as long as Thorin and Dwalin have. Dwalin, however, had no such issues about laughing in front of his king. Dwalin outright guffawed, harder than the first time, he and Bofur using each other as support as the others drew abreast of their welcoming party and many began dismounting from their rides.

 

“Bella, it's so wonderful to see you again.” Sigrid greeted warmly (once she had noticed anyone at all beyond Fili), pulling Bella into an enthusiastic hug. “What's so funny?”

 

“It's good to see you again as well, Sigrid. And don't mind them – they're being... a bit silly.”

 

“Oh, I'm well aware of Mister Dwalin and the King's... proclivities for occasional bouts of silliness. It's good to see dwarrow their age enjoying themselves.”

 

“'Dwarrow their age?!'” Dwalin bellowed at Sigrid amidst a firestorm of giggles from Thora, Eglantine and the boys. “Why the ruddy cheek of you! Can you– Can you believe this Thorin? Such cheek from th' mouths of babes!”

 

“Considering her friendship with my nephews? Absolutely.”

 

Tauriel watched the proceedings with one of those mysterious, aloof, benevolent smiles the elves seemed to be so good at. The twinkle in her eyes was a dead giveaway to her true level of amusement though.

 

“So, Tauriel,” Bella began over the noise of the giggles still ongoing. “It's good to see you again and you are looking quite well. Kili's not been driving you to the ends of the earth being an imp, I take it?”

 

“No,” Tauriel chuckled, that mysterious elf smile taking on a shade more of warmth at the mention of Kili's name. Oh, wasn't that precious, Bella thought. “he has not. I have been doing quite well though, thank you for asking. It is also good to see you here again.”

 

Everything's a bit chaotic and jumbled after that. The boys, Tauriel and Sigrid have Tauriel and Sigrid's camp broken down and affixed to the back of their respective horses in no time flat. The party continues on, beginning to thread the path through Mirkwood with their spirits set even higher than before.

 

That night, torches and fires aplenty are lit to light the pitch darkness that is Mirkwood at night. Thora and Eglantine are with Sigrid and Tauriel and their respective paramours, being the first new people Bella's daughters have seen in months, both women must appear especially fascinating.

 

“Another two to spoil the girls rotten,” Bella remarked aloud, an indulgent smile playing at the corners of her mouth as the shrieks of laughter coming from her two suddenly rose in volume.

 

“Having another two sets of eyes to watch them in this wretched blackness masquerading as night is just fine by me,” Thorin groused, dropping an armful of firewood by the cookfire.

 

“At least you can see something in this suffocating darkness; hobbits are utterly useless in the dark without a torch or some form of light, remember? Also, pass me those potatoes, would you?”

 

“Aye, I do remember your complaints – justified – that you couldn't see a thing.” Thorin replied, carefully passing a sack of potatoes freshly scrubbed and peeled to Bella, who began chopping them into chunks.

 

“At least this time there are no giant moths to harry us when we make camp. I think we can thank Tauriel for that one.” Bella couldn't help the small shudder at the memory of the moths; that horrid fluttering noise made by what felt like thousands of the enormous bugs.

 

“I thought you enjoyed them, though?”

 

“Arse!” Bella cried, aiming a smack at a cheekily smiling Thorin, who dodges and nearly bowls over another dwarrow, drawing attention.

 

“Who's bein' an arse?” Bofur enquired.

 

“Your king is being a tremendously teasing one.”

 

“Oh? And what was he teasin' ya about, my queen?” Nori chimed in.

 

Bella worked to repress the giggle she felt welling up in her throat; she knew the signs of dwarrow gearing up to do some teasing of their own. She absolutely did not want to giggle and ruin the teasing.

 

“It was about the moths.” Bella supplied when Thorin, still smiling and oh, didn't that do things to her insides, suddenly clammed up (because he too recognized the teasing in the offing).

 

“Oh, you mean those monstrously large things. They were rather... disquieting. How was it again, Bofur, that weird flapping noise they made?”

 

“I think it went something like this,” Bofur made what was potentially the most unattractive face ever, pushing his tongue between his bottom teeth and lip so that his lower lip jutted out very far and made an... interesting sound. Sufficiently distracted, Bella didn't notice Kili sneaking up on her to suddenly blow in Bella's ear.

 

Bella's shriek, coupled with Kili's gales of laughter, made more than one warrior jump, but most calmed down easy enough when they saw their monarch beating Kili with the hat ripped from Bofur's head.

 

“You – You ibnid dablûn! You are such a little rotter!” Bella exclaimed, her name-calling breaking down into laughter and joining up with Kili's utterly unrepentant peels of mirth.

 

Bella's just standing up, having just finished whacking a still sporadically giggling Kili. She is turning to give Bofur his hat when this dwarrow of the Coalition falls to the ground with a yelled curse, an arrow sticking out of his shoulder.

 

“TO ARMS! TO ARMS!”

 

The camp erupts in a mad scramble, elves and dwarrow going for weapons, arming themselves and throwing weapons to their compatriots. Some dwarrow just throw themselves into the fray, fists and feet flying.

 

Thorin grabbed Bella and rolled into the underbrush, a cruel-looking dwarf barrelling through where Bella had been standing not seconds later.

 

“The girls – The girls where –“ Bella started, frantic, her breathing erratic.

 

“I saw them. Bella, I saw them. Tauriel got them into a tree, they are alright, Bella.” Thorin reassured Bella, attempted to soothe her down while his eyes never stop casting about for the next dwarf that will try to hurt Bella.

 

“You know as well as I do that Tauriel will not let any harm come to those precious children of ours. Now, we need to move, we need to go; this is not a safe place.”

 

“Do we have any sort of a plan?”

 

“I think I'm going to employ violence.” Thorin decided as he looked for an opening.

 

“Works for me.” Bella agreed, reaching for Sting at her hip and making a most displeased noise when she realizes she left Sting next to her bedroll. She had planned on cleaning it tonight after dinner. Damn.

 

“OI! YOU BASTARD, THAT'S MY BROTHER!” Some dwarrow, Bella cannot tell if it's a friendly dwarf or not roars at the utter top of his lungs very close to Bella and Thorin's somewhat flimsy hiding spot.

 

“Go go go!” Thorin urges, pulling Bella out from the underbrush, dragging her out of the way of a throwing axe.

 

“How many of them are there???” Bella shouted as she dodged a knife and saw Dwalin skewer a dwarf and then throw him an easy 10 feet from a fierce looking Ori.

 

“Oi! Bella! Catch!” Bella looked to her left and saw Bofur and saw the skillet flying toward her. Thorin in a display that is rather flashy, catches the skillet and passes it to Bella with a flick of her wrist as he draws Orcrist smoothly from its scabbard.

 

“Stay close to me!”

 

“Oh, like I was planning on doing a damn thing else!” Bella snipped at Thorin.

 

It's total and utter bedlam, pandemonium... To be perfectly honest, this skirmish is a shitshow. The enemy fighters are coming from all directions and it's dark and a fair few of the torches have gone out. It's hard enough to keep an eye on Thorin, who is fighting next to her and trying to draw most of the fighters to him and away from Bella, let alone keep an eye on any other member of the Company.

 

Bella has downed a few of these enemy dwarrow herself, some do naturally get by Thorin, after all. Thanking Yavanna for the weight training that was lifting her two children by herself, Bella hefts the skillet and swings it this way and that – in whatever direction she has to, really.

 

One dwarf gets by Thorin, a large stinky brute that Bella can actually smell over everything else on the battlefield – it really does rather offend one's olfactory sense. He stopped in his tracks, and cracked a predatory, vicious grin that revealed a mouth that was missing more teeth than it had and the few he did have were rotten, yellow, cracked stumps dotting here and there.

 

This dwarf charges and Bella backs up as he comes forward, naturally, because the blighter is rather large even for a dwarf. He gained ground and swung a battleaxe at Bella's head. Bella's body, if not Bella herself, remembered what she had been taught by the others all those years ago and managed to roll under the swing and behind this vile, vile being.

 

And then, over the cacophony of this brutal midnight clash, Bella hears it:

 

“KNEECAPS! GO FOR THE KNEECAPS, BELLA! GET THE KNEECAPS!” Ori screamed from... somewhere.

 

When this dwarf came at her anew, Bella ducked and rolled once more and again the louts axehead missed her by a fair margin. What is different this time is that on the second duck and roll, Bella aimed to (hopefully) end up closer to the enemy dwarrow's legs. And she did, more or less. She swings the skillet, putting as much of her weight behind it as she could, aiming the short side of the skillet at his kneecaps.

 

The first hit was enough to stagger the brute. The second hit is enough to break the kneecap and possibly other bones. The third hit, with the flat of the skillet, to his head ensures that he won't hurt anyone else ever again.

 

“You are becoming quite proficient at wielding that thing as both weapon and cooking device.” Thorin quipped as he thrust his sword through the stomach of an opponent.

 

Bella smiled, actually smiled!, which she found to be a bit mad that they could joke together, joke at each other at a time like this.

 

“You are incorrigible, Thorin Oakenshield.” Bella laughed at him, taking his offered hand to assist her to her feet. They stick close to each other for the remainder of the fight. Their styles of fighting are, of course, wholly different: He's a well-trained, battle-hardened dwarf who knows precisely where to hit an opponent to make them go down and go down for true. Bella is but a woman who picked up a few skills here and there on her own, a few that were taught to her and a whole, massive bunch of adrenaline to keep her going, she knows that. But their polar opposite styles of fighting work together, not necessarily in peace, but in some form of cohesion at least.

 

The very second it is confirmed that the battle is over and the enemy is dead, a few thing happen. Thorin and Bella immediately bolt over to Tauriel, who is fetching Eglantine and Thora down from the tree she had spirited them into. Oin immediately goes to work treating wounds and corraling others into helping him with his mending. And the throatcutters discreetly get to work checking to make sure that everyone who is supposed to be dead really is dead.

 

Thora and Eglantine immediately throw themselves at their parents, a fact that Thorin looks endlessly pleased about, even as he's trying to help soothe and calm down the daughter that chose him (Thora).

 

“Injuries? Deaths?” Thorin asked Dwalin as the Company loosely assembled around the children.

 

“Oin's workin' on that now. Looks to be shapin' up to be a couple dozen injured and... and a few dead.” Dwalin informed Thorin.

 

“Take any who are not injured or not helping Oin and start digging graves for the dead; half to digging and half to gathering stones for cairns.” Thorin ordered, not stopping the large hand running up and down Thora's back as she clung to her father for dear life.

 

“Right away, Thorin.” Dwalin replied with a nod, turning on his heel and gathering uninjured to him.

 

“Sigrid, Tauriel, are you alright?” Bella asked as the pair wandered close, coming to stand by Kili and Fili.

 

“We're fine, Bella.” Sigrid assured her. “One of the elves boosted me up into the tree as Tauriel grabbed the girls and followed.”

 

Bella opened her mouth to thank Tauriel, but she's beaten to it.

 

“Thank you, Tauriel, for getting Thora and Eglantine out of danger as swiftly as you were able.” Thorin thanked the she-elf with all solemnity, but in the way a parent would be solemn in thanking someone who kept their child safe and from serious harm in a terrible situation. Like what they just went through.

 

“You are most welcome, King Thorin,” Tauriel says, bowing her head the once while Kili beams up at her, taking her hand.

 

“Any ideas how in the name of Mahal's Great Forge, these dwarrow got past the us, let alone the assembled elves?”

 

“I have nothing as to the how, Your Majesty, but as to the who and why...” Dori turned one corpse over and ripped something from the surcoat. “Look.” He urges as he holds out the torn fabric to Thorin.

 

“Ironfists.” Thorin's face looks particularly murderous in an instant. “I knew those bastards would try again.” Bella takes a peek over Dori's arm at the badge. A dull grey fist, clenched around a warhammner on a background of red.

 

“And from the quality of the materials that made up this badge, I'd wager this lout came from one of the noble houses.” Dori added.

 

“That does not surprise me in the slightest.” Thorin told Dori, readjusting Thora in his arms and murmuring in her ear.

 

Bella is doing much the same as Thorin in her attempts to help Eglantine calm down. So intent is she upon her task that she almost misses what Eglantine mumbles into her neck.

 

“Eglantine? What is it, darling?”

 

“The air smells funny.” Eglantine mumbles, still scared.

 

“Funny how, sweetheart?”

 

“Burnt. L'ke when Mister Gandalf set off some whizzpoppers in the lane on our birfday last year.”

 

“You know what,” Bella paused to take several healthy sniffs of the air. “It rather does. Does anyone else smell that?”

 

The sight of several grown people sniffing the air would be far more amusing if it were not for their present circumstances. But several people, dwarrow and elf alike, confirm that they too can smell a burnt tinge to the air that is not the stamped out fires and torches.

 

“Well, I think that rather explains how they got past us to launch a surprise attack,” Bella sighed, suddenly feeling bone deep tired.

 

“I don't follow.” Fili said.

 

“Magic. Magic was how they got past the elves and the dwarrow. That burned scent some of you can smell? It's burnt ozone. Ofttimes that scent can be found in the air after a wizard has worked a bit of enchantment, a _strong_ bit of enchantment. So, there's reason to conjecture a rogue wizard aided these Ironfists... _pricks_.”

 

“Mommy you said a bad word.” Eglantine mumblingly accused.

 

“Yes, I know, Eglantine. Mummy did say a bad word, but sometimes it just can't be helped.”

 

“Remember that the next time someone wakes them up from sleep and they get sworn at in Khuzdul.” Nori says to Bella with a chuckle.

 

Bella stares at Nori as some of the others wearily chuckle.

 

“You are never letting that one go, are you?”

 

“Of course not.” Nori responded a tired shit-eating grin upon his face.

 

There's a clear consensus amongst the Coalition that no one, absolutely no one, wishes to spend the night where they fought and where some of their friends died. Many hands make light work, or so the saying goes, so with people pitching in to re-pack up what little of the camp had been unpacked, and the rest aiding Oin in triage, it is not too long before they are ready to move on.

 

An acceptable spot is decided upon about a mile up the path and after a most thorough scouring of the surrounding area, they make camp again. Everyone is, by this time, too exhausted, too weary, to want to actually cook. So a soft chorus of sighs sounds here and there over camp as cram and water is pulled out of some packs and passed around.

 

Bella reclined against a tree growing next to the path, Thora curled up into a ball on her chest, mostly asleep. Bella murmured lines of a lullaby from her youth in between her few bites of cram washed down with cold water, keeping her hand moving at a slow but steady rate up and down Thora's back.

 

Someone comes up in the darkness and covers Bella and Thora with a cloak; squinting up Bella can just make out a dull glint of light being bounced off from a far away torch.

 

“ _Thank you, Bifur,_ ” Bella whispered up at him.

 

Bifur simply smiled at Bella, gave Thora a gentle caress on the head and moved off to find his own bed. If Bella were to quirk her head to her left, she will see Thorin in a similar position: propped up against a tree, cloak for a pillow, and a child asleep on his chest. She certainly _heard_ Thorin a few moments later, lowly humming the melody for “Misty Mountains” to Eglantine. Bella doesn't look, she knew her other daughter was as safe as it was possible to be camping in the wilderness. And snuggling down and cuddling Thora a bit closer, Bella closed her eyes and let herself be lulled to sleep by the melody of the song and Thorin's own voice.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ibnid -- head  
> dablûn -- simplicity-man (singular)
> 
> Basically, Bella called Kili a 'stupid head' lol


	12. An Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a brief stop on the journey toward Erebor due to some unforseen... and stinky... circumstances.

An Intermission

 

Mirkwood is large. Mirkwood is rather bloody large. Such is the bend of Bella's thoughts as they wend their way along the dimly lit Old Forest Road. Mirkwood looks ever so much smaller on a map. She knows that these thoughts are somewhat... uncharitable, but Bella simply cannot help herself. Travel wears a body down, wears the spirit down – even when travelling with people you know and love.

 

Sleeping in a real bed again was also going to be quite ruddy nice.

 

The day is rather a sunny one and while it is not the warmest, Bella has a task to perform. It is not going to be pleasant, but... but she would not ask anyone else to do a task that she herself would not.

 

And that is giving her over-ripe children a bath.

 

It had started when they had come back with Kili, Fili, Sigrid and Tauriel from foraging for berries. They had rejoined the main column somewhere around the approximation that passed for mid-day in Mirkwood.

 

Bella felt the section of people closest to her fall suddenly silent. She looks up.

 

“What. Happened.:”

 

“We fell in some mud!” Thora declared.

 

“Stinky mud!” Eglantine cheerfully added.

 

“I can certainly smell that,” Bella heard a dwarf mutter to a nearby elf.

 

“I'll get the soap.” Bella sighs, clambering to her feet.

 

“But... But...”

 

“No 'buts.' You two stink like a pig pen.” Bella said as she dug through her pack looking for the soap.

 

“We can help you bathe them, Bella.” Sigrid kinly offered, motioning to herself and Tauriel, as Kili and Fili (who appeared to have gotten some of the foul mud on them as well) slunk off to clean their coats and own selves.

 

“If you like,” Tauriel tacked on.

 

“I would indeed, I should like the help very much.”

 

Between the three of them, they soon get Thora and Eglantine bundled along to an out of the way bathing spot.

 

“So,” Bella says as she begins washing mud off of Eglantine's little face, “how have things been for the both of you?”

 

“All things considered – pretty good.” Sigrid responds.

 

A little laugh bubbles its way up Bella's throat. “Pretty good?”

 

“Perhaps that is oversimplifying things,” Sigrid allowed with a smile. “But things have been going well, truly. Father was able to restore Dale with all haste – far sooner than many in Esgaroth expected.”

 

“Thanks in no small part to you from what I hear, Lady Bella,” Tauriel quietly interjected.

 

“Oh, pish,” Bella mildly scoffed, attacking a snarl that seemed to be equal parts hair and mud on Eglantine.

 

“Ow!” Eglantine cried when Bella pulled on it.

 

“Sorry, sweetling,” Bella apologized. “Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes! I didn't need all that money, Sigrid. One-fourteenth share of a treasure may not seem like all that much, but the treasure hoard Smaug had built up? One-fourteenth of that treasure was far more than I could ever have spent – even if I lived a hundred times over. I could have divvied up that treasure and given a portion to every family in the Shire and still be left with more then I could spend. No, no, it's better it went where it was needed.”

 

“And the people of a restored, rebuilt Dale thank you for it,” Sigrid said as she handed Thora cloth to scrub at the dirt and muck under fingernails. “Father started telling people you had given him your share of the treasure after a time; I think he wanted the credit to go where he felt it was due,” Sigrid elaborated at Bella's quirked in question eyebrow.

 

“Ah. And here's another thing: How was I supposed to get all that treasure all the way home?”

 

“Have Gandalf magic up some pack mules?” Sigrid suggested.

 

“Are we gonna see Mister Gandalf?” Thora asks, both girls having almost instantaneously latched on to this one piece of the sentence.

 

“I don't know when next we will see Gandalf, my dears. He _is_ a wizard; they show up and leave as they please without so much as a – take this cloth and scrub under both your arms, Eglantine – as a 'by your leave.' I'm sure we'll see him at some point, though.”

 

“Oh.” Both girls say and they go back to splashing as the mud – and, really, how on Arda did they get this much mud in their _hair_? – is rinsed and washed out of their hair.

 

“And you, Tauriel? How have you been?”

 

“I have been very well,” Tauriel answers, a soft, happy smile at the corners of her mouth. “I live in Dale now – near Sigrid and her family.”

 

“Thranduil didn't banish you from Mirkwood, did he?”

 

“No,” Tauriel quickly answers, her voice soft but with an undercurrent of steel to it. “He did not. I am welcome to return anytime I wish to Mirkwood. I chose to stay in Dale, help rebuild. I wanted to be as close to Kili as he healed from his injuries.”

 

“That is perfectly understandable,” Bella agreed. “And I imagine Kili is a frequent visitor.”

 

Sigrids loud snort of amusement sounded so... out of place coming from her. “It was all that could be done to convince her to rest while Kili healed. And once he had crutches – attached at the hip.”

 

“sigrid, you don't have to tease so much – otherwise Tauriel has every right to turn around and tease you about Fili. Love in all its forms is precious and should be nurtured. And my word! I got a great deal more serious then I meant to just now. I do apologize for getting so... Delilah Downer-y on you all.”

 

“You do not need to apologize for speaking how you feel.” Tauriel said, smiling fully at Bella and placing her hand on the hobbit's shoulder, gently squeezing once before letting go.

 

“I am happy, truly. Kili and I see each other as often as we are able. Sometimes,” Tauriel pauses to put the soap into Sigrid's hand (said young woman had been blindly groping for it while trying to work out a knot in Thora's curls). “Sometimes, we go hunting together with other people from Dale, sometimes I go to see him in Erebor. It is not at all how I pictured the events of my life unfolding, but... I am fine with it and would not trade meeting Kili for anything. No matter what others say.”

 

“Psh. If anyone has said anything even vaguely uncomplimentary, they can go boil their heads for thinking they have any thoughts they have the right to air. And I'm sure there have been a few.”

 

“I quite agree with Bella. Those people just don't want to let old hurts go or accept that things can change between elves and dwarrow. Alright, Thora dunk your head in the water to rinse.”

 

“Or dwarrow and humans.” Bella added, a sidelong glance aimed at Sigrid.

 

“What?” Sigrid asks, all genuine puzzlement as they aid the girls out of the river, both finally clean and stink free.

 

“Oh, come now, do not pretend false ignorance; how Fili bolted toward you several days ago was quite... telling.” Bella pointed out as Thora and Eglantine are dried off, their curls have hurried towels run over them before they got dressed into clean clothes. Both girls who are watching this scene with interest, if not quite as much understanding.

 

“You misunderstand; apparently everyone has.” Sigrid sighed and ran a hand through her chocolate colored hair. “Fili and I have a great deal in common and we are close, yes, this is true, but...” Sigrid cast a quick, weary eye at the girls to make sure they weren't listening closely. Or at all. “It is not like that.”

 

“But do you wish it to be something?”

 

“Oh, heavens, no! He's my best friend, that would be like courting Bain – utterly disgusting.”

 

“I concede that point to you. And I also apologize for my misconceptions.” Bella said, apologetic.

 

“I, too, feel the need to make apologies, for I too assumed you and Fili were entered into... an understanding. I simply thought Fili was not as... tactile as a dwarf can be out of respect for human custom.”

 

“It's alright, Tauriel. My father knows, knows Fili has absolutely no feelings for me beyond us being friends, and I him, and so says nothing and neither did we. Though I'm starting to see that might have been an error.”

 

“So,” Bella said, dragging out the 'o' sound whilst looking at Tauriel out the corner of her eye. “'Tactile' are they?”

 

And that does it.

 

Three grown women burst into laughter and strong giggles. Bella merely saying 'tactile' the way she had had begun a chain reaction to mirth and amusement, leaving two mightily confused children in the wake.

 

“Grown ups is weird, Eggs,” Thora whispered to her sister as both sat there on the grass watching the spectacle before them.

 

“Yes, but they makes yummy food. Most 'the time.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted this to be a fun, light chapter. I just wanted it to be a catch up, the three lone women of the present travelling group having a chat and a catch up. Maybe some teasing, jokes, nothing too serious. Then -- WHAMMO! These little shits (said with love) took the reins out of my hands and took a hard left into Emotionsville.


	13. A Dwarrow Having a Heart-to-Heart?  (Oh!  Never) (But They Do)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thorin, Balin, and Dwalin take Thora and Eglantine out for the day in Dale and some talking happens, as the chapter title would suggest :)

It was a particularly dark night -- new moon and all -- when the Coalition finally arrived in Dale.

 

There had been some talk of pushing on to Erebor rather than lingering. After all, what was a few more hours travel when they have torches to light the way? Thorin put paid to that plan as they entered Dale proper, saying Erebor had waited for four months, another day or two wouldn't hurt. Both uzbadnutha needed to rest up a bit in proper beds.

 

Bard and a sleepy looking Bain and Tilda were waiting for them at the gate, surrounded by a contingent of tall, strong and solid looking descendants of the sons of Dale. Bard urged his horse forward of their welcome party a bit and raised a hand in welcome.

 

"Good evening, and welcome back to Dale, King Thorin. I hope your journey went well?"

 

Thorin pulled his pony up a short distance from Bard and raised his own hand in greeting. "It went well indeed, King Bard, thank you for asking."

 

"Ah, and welcome back to Dale, Lady Bella," Bard said, a smile appearing on his face when Bella pulled her pony up alongside Thorin's.

 

"It is good to be back, to see how far Dale has come in just a few short years, _Your Grace_."

 

Bard's snort is so reminiscent of Sigrid to Bella that she has to tamp down on the urge to look at her young friend.

 

"You'll be able to see more in daylight; come, we've rooms prepared. Unfortunately, I don't have the space to shelter all of you under one roof --

 

"Ya didn't the last time either," Bofur joked.

 

Bard laughed. "No, no, that was definitely close quarters. You'll be able to walk in the front door this time, though."

 

That brought laughter from the Company and a grimace from Bella. Coming into Bard's home in Laketown the way they had? Easily the most disgusting part of the entire quest; and that included being covered in spider webs.

 

As their party wends its way quietly as they can through the darkened streets, they lose a few people here and there. OH, it's nothing so dramatic and sinister as it sounds -- simply having small to small-ish groups peel off to bed down for the night at the several inns Dale has acquired.

 

The party that arrives at the small, well, _palace_ is the only word that immediately comes to mind for Bella, that Bard now calls home is relatively low in number.

 

"You should see this place as the morning sun first strikes it," Tilda said to Bella, her first communique since their arrival. "It makes the white stone look ever so soft."

 

"I imagine it does," Bella replied, passing her sleeping child (Thora) to a waiting Dwalin as Fili helped her down from her pony.

 

"Is your sister aware of your arrival?" Bella overhears Bard asking Thorin.

 

"As far as I am aware, yes; I had Kili send his raven bearing a message of our imminent arrival about a week ago."

 

"You should have seen it: Dis came tearing in here during Sigrid's lessons with Tauriel demanding to know if Tauriel had any prior knowledge of what her 'harebrained sons had done.'"

 

"Dis is a -- a force of nature when roused to great emotion," Thorin admitted, Bella turning to see the grimace on his face.

 

That seems to be the end of their conversation, for a few minutes later everyone starts moving indoors. Dwarrow and elves bidding each other good night as they arrive at their temporary accommodations. Bella can't help the small sigh that escapes her when she is shown into the bedroom she'll be sleeping in and she sees the bed.

 

"Look. A real bed," Bella says wistfully.

 

Tilda laughs softly, mindful of the sleeping Thora and Eglantine, as Dwalin and Kili gently place their sleeping charges down onto the bed.

 

"I helped put warming pans under the bed, so it'd be nice and toasty," she cheerfully offers up.

 

"Thank you, Tilda. That was very thoughtful of you," Bella said, sincere in her thanks.

 

"Now, can someone tell me where the girls' bags are so I can get them into something more comfy to sleep in? And would anyone like to help me get them changed?"

 

Tilda and Sigrid pitch in and in no time at all it seems both girls have had their faces washed, been gotten into relatively clean pajamas and settled into the bed.

 

In fact, both their eyes are slipping shut again as Tilda and Sigrid bid them good night and take their leave. Bella is about to go into the bathroom to wash her own face when she hears her own name sleepily being called from the bed.

 

"Yes, my sweethearts?"

 

"We w'nna say 'night to Papa."

 

"Alright, stay in bed and I'll go see if I can find him." Bella aborted her trip to the bathroom, instead heading to the door. Poking her head out, she flagged down a guard standing at the end of the hallway.

 

Message relayed, guard sent off, Bella ducks back into her bedroom. In the few minutes it takes for Thorin to appear, Bella goes through the girls' bags and picks out their clothes for tomorrow.

 

"I heard my presence was requested," is the velvety rumble that accompanied a polite knock on the edge of the door.

 

"Yes, by the two little gremlins in bed." Bella replied, waving toward their daughters. "Have fun getting up there," was tacked on with a snicker and a smile.

 

Thorin smiles back and without saying a word he walks to the more unoccupied side of her bed. Thorin bends down, pulls something out that Bella can't see, holds it up and --

 

"A foot stool. That'll be useful, most useful. And you needn't look so smug."

 

"Me? Smug?" Thorin shoots Bella a cheeky grin that for a moment transforms him into a hairy, older Kili.

 

"Cheek," Bella muttered not quite under her breath.

 

Bella puttered about as Thorin bid the girls good night; setting out the girls' clothing for the next day and the like.

 

Bella felt a tapping on her shoulder and turned to Thorin; he silently motioned to Bella's open door and by extension the hall outside of it. Bella nods and spares the bed a glance; both girls have drifted off it seems.

 

"You wanted a word?" Bella asks when they're in the hall.

 

"Yes. I was wondering if I might take the girls tomorrow morning; explore and walk about, show them Dale. Maybe get a spot of breakfast or lunch. Balin and Dwalin will be coming as well."

 

"That sounds alright. What time were you thinking -- so I can have the girls ready?"

 

"Well, I was actually thinking that maybe you could leave their brushes and other things with their clothes then I could handle it. Let you have a proper lie-in for once. So, you get to sleep in, I get to spend some time with the girls, everyone is happy. What do you say?"

 

"You think you can get in and out without waking me or the girls... before you have to... I wish you all the luck," Bella said, not able to help herself in teasing Thorin a little. "And, yes, I'll leave their things where you'll be able to find them."

 

"Thank you, Bella. I will trouble you no further, and let you get to bed. Good evening and sleep well."

 

"To you as well, Thorin. Good night," Bella bid him farewell and turned to head back to her room as Thorin moved to do the same in the opposite direction.

 

Bella shut the door with a quiet click, casting a quick eye to the bed to make sure Thora and Eglantine are still slumbering. Quietly, Bella gathers together the girls hairbrushes and tooth-brushing wands and rolls them up in a spare length of cloth -- to better muffle any potential noises that could be made.

 

A quick wash in the lovely washroom attached to her bedroom and a quick change into her cleanest long shirt and Bella is free (and more than a little happy) to use the step-stool Thorin left out for her, oh, that was thoughtful of him, and ease under the deliciously warm covers. Sleep is blissfully quick in coming to her on this night.

 

* * * * * * *

 

"Shh!"

 

"You 'shh!'"

 

"If you wake Bella after I promised her a lie-in, I will put you on slurry water duty until the human new year! Now go in there and get the girls clothes and things!"

 

"You are so head-over-heels for Bella it's a little sickenin'. D'you know that? Alright, I'm goin', I'm goin'," Dwalin held up his hands in surrender and appeasement. He tip-toed into Bella's room and away from Thorin's thunder brow headed glare.

 

Balin and Thorin crept in after Dwalin, heading for the bed on stocking-ed feet. It must have made quite the comical sight -- if anyone had happened to be passing by that early in the morning.

 

Three hulking dwarrow creeping through the room as if they were... well, somewhat inept burglars. Dwalin was the first to make it back to the hallway, naturally. Thorin coaxed and gently pulled first one only slightly more asleep than awake daughter out of bed, then the other.

 

Dwalin has to shove a few knuckles in his mouth to stifle his snickering when both Thorin and Balin freeze, practically mid-step, as Bella lets out this snuffling, breathy snort and rolls over in her sleep.

 

After a moment, both dwarrow seem to sag a bit in relief and continue creeping out of Bella's room.

 

"Y'know," Balin starts as they head back to Thorin's bedroom, "it occurs to me that we should have asked Nori to retrieve the girls."

 

Dwalin snorts loudly. "Fool will still be sleeping; saw him dicing and enjoying a mug o' ale with some'a Bard's guards last night."

 

"Wh're's momma?" Eglantine sleepily slurs as the trio makes it back to Thorin's room.

 

"She's still sleeping, sweetheart," Thorin answered. "Do you remember when I said that I would ask your mother last night if I could take you out tomorrow and we could spend some time together?"

 

"Yeah," Eglantine responded.

 

"Well, that's what's happening today."

 

"Oh, ok."

 

"So, young one, we're going to have some breakfast and then we shall go exploring." Balin added finally getting Thora to notice the small table upon which breakfast had been set. Thora, who had been doing her very best to turn Balin into her new bed, visibly perked up at the plates of still steaming meats and eggs and bread and bowls of fruit and pitchers of juice and pots of honey and jam.

 

"Someone's about as aware as her father at first light," Dwalin joked as he handed Thorin a plate and began loading up his own.

 

"Leave some for the rest of us, you glutton," Thorin teased his old friend right back.

 

"Ptch, you're one to talk," Dwalin harrumphed. Both dwarrow smiling at each other in the way old friends do; safe in the knowledge that were the children not present the insults would be flying thick and fast.

 

"Mister Dwalin, may I please have a drink?" Eglantine asked around a mouthful of bread and honey.

 

"Oh, er, yeah." Dwalin poured a glass of juice something fruity by the bouquet and handed it over.

 

"Thank you!"

 

Breakfast is a pleasant affair, if a little noisy. And a little noise is just fine by dwarrow standards. Both girls definitely revive over their breakfast and they begin to add to the conversation, making little remarks or saying something here or there or interrupting to ask a question or for more food.

 

After breakfast Thorin helps his daughters clean up; wash their little faces, brushing their teeth and the hair on their feet and so on. Both girls also sit remarkably still as Thorin brushes and then braids first Thora, then Eglantine's hair. Of course, the incentive of a treat if they sat still and behaved... That may have had something to do with it, at least partially.

 

Both Thora and Eglantine are holding onto their father's hands as they leave Bard's home, Balin and a visibly armed Dwalin following after them.

 

It's... nice, Thorin thinks, as the five of them spend the morning walking around Dale. Through the rather large market where merchants from Dale, Mirkwood, and Erebor cry their wares from their stalls. Both his daughters awed and excited by all the things to look at, smell or touch. Thora and Eglantine were also too busy licking at their treat (some of the last honeycombs of the summer, sold to them by a cheerful looking older woman who had deep set smile lines in her face) to notice when Nori showed up, exchanged a few words with Dwalin and then melted away as if he had never been there.

 

"You know, if you had asked me how I thought my years on middle earth would have played out, and if any of my life would play out as it has... I would have asked if you had inhaled forge vapors in great quantity," Balin paused a moment and lifted his face up, enjoying the warmth of the mid-day sun. "It certainly has been an interesting life."

 

Thorin looked to balin, a smile that had been on his face watching Thora and Eglantine chase Dwalin around a park receding to the corners; but it was still there.

 

"It has been quite the journey. One I could not have made without the support of those who knew me best -- much as they'll protest otherwise," Thorin said as Balin began to do just that.

 

"That's a load of tosh. Who was there to keep our people together after Erebor fell? Who kept us together as we searched for a new home and found one in Ered Luin?"

 

"And who was there by my side offering sound counsel and advice as he had done for my father and grandfather before me? Whose idea was it, even, to seek sanctuary in Ered Luin? Face it, Balin, you can take as large a share of credit as I can. And I won't hear you say otherwise."

 

Balin splutters a bit, as he tries to think of a way around Thorin's argument. Thorin smiles at the old dwarrow warrior and counselor, finding the humor in having stumped Balin. It's something he's learned in the years after the quest: Take the moments where and when you can.

 

Even if that means laughing and finding humor in a friend's puzzlement. Or when his daughter's are unintentionally funny or when they did something sweet that made him smile. Like the frogs back in the Shire.

 

A fake roar from Dwalin draws Balin and Thorin's attention. Dwalin, already on his knees, goes down with a breathlessly laughing Thora and Eglantine on his back. The girls are busy screaming victory over 'the monster' when Dwalin roars back up off the grass, sending both girls tumbling off him, but they never make contact with the grass for he catches a girl in each arm.

 

"I never expected children. Out of everything I expected to happen, that I thought I did deserve and what I actually deserved... Children were never really a thought," Thorin quietly admitted. "Especially after Fili and Kili were born."

 

"Children are a gift. A sign of new life and growth for any people -- man, dwarf, elf -- whomever. To be perfectly blunt, Thorin, children are the result of a moment or several of happiness between the parents. They are also a reminder from the gods that it is alright to be happy and to stop looking back and to start looking forward. You have been given a chance, a family of your own. Do not squander it by remaining focused on the past."

 

"You are right. As always."

 

Balin smirked and popped a piece of bread into his mouth. "Have you and Bella discussed... things? Or had the chance to do so?"

 

"Not really." Thorin says with a shake of his head. "What Dwalin said this morning was not... not entirely inaccurate. It's come up. If in a rather obfuscatory way. I know we need to have a conversation and really speak of things, but..."

 

"It's been nice going about things as they have been?"

 

"Yes. Bella knows much will change once we step through Erebor's gates. I know much will change, both for us and the girls, but where Bella and I go as... as we had been? Will we go that way again? I do not know."

 

"Only time will tell, Thorin."

 

"Papa! Papa! Papa!"

 

Thorin looks up to see Eglantine and Thora tearing across the grass to the bench were Thorin and Balin had been sitting.

  
"What is it girls?" Thorin asked, hand going to the dagger at his waist, ready to tear into someone in an instant.

 

"Nuffing! We wanna show you somefin'!" Eglantine exclaimed, grabbing Thorin's free hand as Eglantine makes a leap for Thorin's wrist and catches hold of the fur trimming the sleeve.

 

"Alright, where are we going?"

 

"Just up the street; These two have a nose for flowers the way some dwarrow do for veins of precious metal." Dwalin swore as they trudged up the cobblestone street.

 

Even Thorin had to admit that the flower smell is fragrant. A little much to his nose, especially as they draw closer to the flower vendor, but a fragrant scent all the same.

 

"Can we get momma some flowers?"

 

"Yeah, can we?"

 

"Of course we can. Why don't you and your sister pick out a bouquet for your mother and we'll make it into one big one."

 

And just like that both girls go off and immediately start loudly debating merits of petal color, shape and softness, with Balin trailing behind to help hold the girls chosen flowers.

 

"And if they want to know a flower name or can't remember, all they need to do is ask you."

 

"Have you finally taken one too many blows to the head, Dwalin?"

 

Dwalin scoffed. "You're tellin' me that you didn't buy a book about flowers back in the Shire? You're tellin' me that you've not spent the last four months usin' that book to leave Bella little posies when you've found the right flowers in the wild?"

 

"..."

 

"Well?"

 

"... Shut up."

 

Dwalin roars with laughter knowing he's won. He can't even stop laughing when Thorin socks him hard on the shoulder. It only makes him laugh harder as he moves into the shelves of the stall.

 

Thorin waits a moment, trying to make sure Dwalin won't pop out suddenly and catch him. When he's sure, Thorin reaches into his coat and pulls out a somewhat thick tome. On flowers. He flicks through the pages until he finds the ones he had specially marked last night before going to bed.

 

As he moved into the flower stall (which was rather large), Thorin thanked the sensitive noses his daughter's possessed and perused the wide variety of flowers the stall had for sale. He would be able to create a sizable bouquet for Bella that was all his own. Even if his best friend mercilessly mocked him for it, it was worth it.

 

 


	14. And So Things Come to An End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A morning with the Durin's as they prepare for the final stretch of their journey to Erebor -- entry into the mountain itself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks belong to my lovely beta, Trtl-Tot, who helped me out immensely. But was then evil and sent me on a hunt for places where I had put the incorrect punctuation in. But I still love her anyways :D

The day had finally come. After spending three days letting the girls recover from their journey in Dale, it was finally time to head to the mountain. Bella had made double, then triple sure that her and the girls' luggage was packed, that their nicest dresses had been laid out the night before.

 

Thorin had helped Bella to give Thora and Eglantine a bath the night before their departure. Then he and Fili had shown up before breakfast to put the proper braids into the girls' hair. Ones that, apparently, showed what family they came from, that they were princesses of Erebor -- according to Fili at any rate.

 

"And what about your mop, auntie?" Fili asked, nodding at Bella's head as his hands deftly worked a section of Thora's curls into a braid. Laughing, he ducked the pillow that came flying at his head seconds later.

 

"Thought I might use that piece you made me back in the Shire. I don't really have much in the way of ornamentation beyond that."

 

"Well, since uncle is currently doing battle with Egg's hair and I'm almost done with Thora's, I don't mind braiding your hair for you. If you don't mind."

 

"That's fine. I'll just brush my hair while you're finishing up Eglantine."

 

Bella bent back down to go through one of her bags, finding the hair piece and pulling it out for Fili to use on her momentarily. Bella's midway through taming her curls from their bedhead frizz when a thought occurs to her.

 

"Do I have to wear any particular braids in my hair?"

 

"Er... wellllll..." Fili starts, drawing 'well' out in an effort to stall and give himself some time to think.

 

"Not if you don't wish it, Bella. Most will understand that you wear no particular braid because your people do not normally do such things," Thorin jumped in. "You do not have to wear anything beyond a simple braid that keeps the hair off your face, if that is your wish."

 

"I'm sensing something of a 'but' here."

 

"No, there is no 'but.' If you don't wish to have your hair done in the dwarrow fashion, you don't have to. Anyone who matters will not mind. And anyone who minds can go roast their heads in a forge for all I care," Thorin strongly declared.

 

"Well, that's... encouraging," Bella muttered, half-listening and mulling the idea in her mind.

 

"Momma, you should wear braids so we can match," Thora said as Fili fastened the last braid with a pretty blue bead.

 

"Well... I suppose if you do not mind looking like your old mum --"

 

"Silly, mama! You're not old. Lobelia's old, you're our mum," Eglantine chimed in.

 

"You have got to love the logic of children," Fili said with a chuckle.

 

"Alright, alright. What braids would even _go_ in my hair?" Bella turned to ask Fili, missing the thousand watt smile on Thorin's face (that he also attempted to hide in Eglantine's hair).

 

"Well, the braid that signifies that you are an adult, for one," Fili started, a finger popping up on his hand for each braid Bella could wear. "For another you could also wear a braid of bravery, for the quest and what not. Or the... er, braid for the Line of Durin since... you know..."

 

"Any other braids?" Bella cut in, lest this whole conversation completely derail itself through Fili's sudden awkwardness.

 

"I think you've earned the right to wear the warrior's braid, too. There are other braids, too, of course, but... I don't know if you would want them in your hair yet. Or at all."

 

"I'm going to trust you, Fili, and let you put in the braids you think appropriate."

 

"I will not betray that most sacred and auspicious trust, you have my word, auntie." Fili said, standing up from the stool and performing the most complicated looking bow Bella has possibly ever seen.

 

"You lot are utterly ridiculous," Bella said, eyes fond.

 

"Oh, you know you love us." Fili quickly responded with a roguish wink.

 

"Yavanna knows why I do sometimes when you lot are being most vexing and trying," Bella joked back, sitting herself on the stool that Thora had recently vacated.

 

"No getting that dress dirty, young lady," Bella reminds her daughter as Thora starts dancing about the room.

 

"I'm not leavin' th' room, mama. So I'm not gonna get my dress dirty."

 

"Someone's sassy today," Fili remarked as he went to work on Bella's head.

 

"It's an unusual day, Thora's feeding off everyone else's nervous energy. I think she can be forgiven for being a little... sassy today," Thorin jumped in and pointed out.

 

"This is true," Fili agrees.

 

Thorin eventually (eventually) wins the war with Eglantine's hair and she goes off to join Thora up on the rather large window sill. Said sister is currently curled up in a little ball softly snoring. Eglantine gently reaches over and moves a lock of loose hair off her sister's cheek before going to sit in the opposite corner.

 

Thorin's face suddenly lights up and he's out of the room with barely a, "I will return in a moment," to either Fili or Bella.

 

"What was that all about?" Bella asked Fili.

 

"Search me if I know," Fili responded, using a clasp bead on a braid that won't end up in the hair jewelry.

 

Things are quiet, in a good way, nice way, for a few minutes more. Fili completes some braids, then fastens the hair piece around the two largest braids that will help to keep Bella's hair from getting in her face overmuch on the ride up to Erebor.

 

"You know Thorin's been the one leaving you posies on the journey?" Fili quietly asked, a bit out of the blue.

 

"Of course," Bella responded. "It could hardly be anyone else leaving me the flowers he left me."

 

"Flower messages?"

 

"Indeed they were." Bella said, a private smile on her face at the thought of waking up in the morning on the journey and finding a posy of flowers next to her pillow. Many of the books she had brought with her now housed the flowers that had made up the posies in their pages.

 

"Fili, what braids did you not mention I could wear at the end earlier?"

 

"Well, there are braids that the queen of Erebor wears in her hair. But I know that you and Thorin have not yet had an... opportunity to... discuss all that. And, no, I did not put the queen's braids in your hair."

 

"Thank you, Fili."

 

"Anything for my favorite aunt," Bella smiles at the smile she can hear in Fili's voice.

 

"I'm your only aunt, you imp."

 

"Not true; I think Dain's wife could technically be considered an aunt. But you are my favorite auntie."

 

"What braids are you putting in my hair, out of curiosity?"

 

"The one that would have gone in when you came of age, for one. There are two simple, plain ones that I've fed into the clasps of this piece of hair jewelry. And I am putting in the warrior braids now, these ones are going to hang and frame your face; there will be beads to help weight down the braids so they won't be flapping all over the place."

 

"Is the road up to Erebor particularly breezy, then?"

 

"Well, some days it's not so bad. But the area known as the desolation is still... pretty desolate. It's a lot better five years later, but the trees planted afterward are still young and still growing. So some days the wind blowing through can get a touch rough."

 

"What beads are you putting in?"

 

"Well, gold goes best with your complexion, so I'm putting on some beads that have the sigil for the line of Durin engraved on them. What, don't trust me, auntie?"

 

"I trust you, you know that, Fili. But I also know that you lot can be incredibly wily and crafty when the spirit moves you to be so."

 

"Eh, that is true. But, no, I would not lead you false on serious things such as this. The beads bear only the sigil of my, well, our family line. There's no hidden message, I promise."

 

Thorin walked back into the room shortly after that exchange between Bella and Fili. He let them know that most everyone was ready and they would be setting off for Erebor whenever they were ready.

 

"Where'd you go off to?" Fili asked as he finished up Bella's hair, giving her a pat on the shoulder to let her know that he was finished.

 

"I went and had a word with Bard. I thought it would be a good idea that if we included the traditions of hobbits as well. It wouldn't be hard at all to weave a bloom or two into your hair and the girls' hair."

 

"Oh, Thorin, that's so sweet of you. Thank you," Bella was heartfelt in her thanks; she really did find it sweet of Thorin to consider the idea of the flowers.

 

Thorin's responding smile could have lit a dark room, so Fili chose to have some tact and let them have a moment. He went over to the window to rouse Thora from her nap and keep Eglantine's attention on him for the time being. He had hoped he was right, about how he had described what existed between Bella and Thorin. And it appears, tentatively, that he may indeed be correct.

 

"You've been nothing but accommodating to my people's traditions, I thought it high time we considered some of your own people's traditions. Bard should have someone coming by soon with a selection of blooms for you to choose from."

 

Bella took a step forward, then another, and placed her hand on Thorin's forearm. She could feel the heat of Thorin through the layers of fabric and leather; it really was incredible the amount of body heat dwarrow could put off. "It's very kind, and sweet of you, and I do appreciate it Thorin. Thank you."

 

"I know you do. You have given up your home for us -- I still remember that declaration of yours on the slopes of the Misty Mountains; how you would help us to reclaim our home. And you gave up that home you so missed during that journey, to move with our daughters' to Erebor. Things are going toâ€“â€œ much will be changing after today. I just â€“â€œ I would not like it if someone ignored my people's traditions and I thought that you would not like it either. And I know you would not have complained about it, that is not your way, but Thora and Eglantine are half-hobbit, too. After all, our people's respective gods are married, are they not? So some greenery is not wholly out of place."

 

"No, it is not, but it still speaks incredibly well that you thought to include something of my people in this. And another thing â€“â€œ I missed my chair and my books and my garden, yes, but something I learned on that quest, that I think you know well, is that home can also be where your family and loved ones are. It's not just a dwelling and a roof over your head, it's also people. I know that we will have to talk about... things in the coming days, but right now know you needn't worry about me feeling ignored or anything like that. We'll figure things out, Thorin. Eventually."

 

Thorin chuckled, a warm, heartfelt noise. "Indeed we shall. Now, shall we take our leave before Bard grows tired of us?"

 

"Sounds like a plan to me. Girls, are you ready to go?"

 

"Wanna nap," Thora mumbles, looking a touch dozy but awake.

 

"You'll be able to take a nap once we make it inside Erebor, Thora," Thorin promised his daughter, crossing the room to pick her up and balancing her on his hip like it was nothing at all.

 

Eglantine reached out for her mother and Bella smiled an indulgent smile and crossed the room to where Eglantine was perched still on the window sill.

 

"Does someone not feel like walking either?" Bella teasingly asked as she settled Eglantine on her hip.

 

"Nope!" Eglantine chirped.

 

"The cheek," Bella scoffed as they moved out of her room, folk moving in as they left to gather up their luggage and the luggage of others for transport to Erebor.

 

When they arrived in the courtyard Balin was amongst the first to see them and made a beeline for Thorin, a small strip of parchment dangling in his grip.

 

"A missive from your sister, Thorin," Balin explained as he held out the parchment.

 

Thorin took it and shook the parchment a bit to straighten it out.

 

"What's it say?"

 

"That she's had the royal apartments have been readied and that she's going to have my ba--" Bella did not even bother trying to keep in the laugh at the speed at which Balin's hand covered Thorin's mouth.

 

"Ears, Thorin. _Young ears._ " The elder statesdwarf chastised.

 

"So, mum's planning to... shall we say... raise your voice an octave for certain events?" Fili asked, a wicked glint in his eye.

 

"You could say that," Thorin said, holding the parchment out to his nephew.

 

Fili had zero problem taking that parchment and reading the note, snorting with laughter at the threat leveled at Thorin's personal bits.

 

"Mum will get over it eventually. Maybe immediately when she meets the girls and discovers how dangerously cute they are," Fili said with a shrug.

 

The day before their departure and every so often on the journey, Fili and Kili and others had spoken of Dis to the girls. It was, in part, to get them used to meeting someone new who would be in their lives quite a bit. And another piece of it was, as Kili pointed out, to spare them some confusion, since Thorin and Dis looked rather a bit a like. And probably would confuse the girls into thinking that Dis was their father if they met her without knowing much about her and what she was like and most importantly what she looked like. Ori had even drawn a likeness of Dis and held it next to Thorin's face to show the similarities between the two Durin siblings.

 

"Why's auntie Dis mad at papa?" Eglantine asked. Smart as a whip, this little girl of hers, Bella thought. They would have to be careful how much they spoke around her for a time.

 

"Mum's not mad mad at your papa, not really, Eglantine. Irritated, certainly. But really mad at him? No."

 

"Is she mad at us?" Thora chimed in.

 

"Oh, no, no, no, Thora, no," Thorin quickly spoke. "Your aunt is incredibly excited to meet you and your sister. She's just also incredibly annoyed with me. And she has every right to be for I did some very silly, very naughty things a few years back; things that I deserved to be yelled at for. But mad at you? No, never."

 

Thora and Eglantine appear to be mollified by their father and Fili's answers for the moment. And quickly as a child's mind can be distracted by something, they are distracted by the arrival of Sigrid bearing a flower basket filled to the brim with stems and abundant color.

 

"There you are! I've been all over this madness looking for you; blooms, both from the garden and the greenhouse."

 

"That's... quite the selection, thank you," Bella passes Eglantine to Balin and picks out some cinquefoil which Fili and Thorin saw carefully but deftly woven into the girls hair. Some baby's breath is also picked out to frame the cinquefoil blossoms.

 

"These are lovely blooms, Sigrid. Whoever tends the gardens should be proud of themselves."

 

"That is a mighty compliment coming from a hobbit, thank you, Bella," Tauriel called out, wandering over to them with a smiling Kili. "But Tilda deserves some of the praise as well; she's rather taken to gardening in the last few years. The greenhouse was her idea, in fact."

 

"My compliments to your sister, would you pass them on for me?"

 

"Of course, I will."

 

Bella is perusing the variety of flowers in Sigrid's basket, she hears some flickering behind her but attributes it to some part of the general chaos around their impending departure. Then -- 

 

"A suggestion, if I may?" comes the velvety rumble of Thorin's voice behind her.

 

"Er... sure, why not?" Well, Bella, could you be less eloquent in that moment if you had tried, she thinks to herself as Thorin stepped up to the flower basket.

 

Thorin emerges holding some edelweiss, bright blue gentian and some soft maroon cosmos blossoms. And it's... It's... Well, to be perfectly frank and employ some slightly crude language â€“â€œ What Thorin has just done took some serious balls. True to the fact that out of them all assembled together, only herself, Thorin (clearly) and, perhaps, Tauriel, know what those particular pieces mean that Thorin has chosen, it still took serious stones. And when she lets Thorin tuck his chosen flowers into her hair, into the braids, Bella has to work damn hard at not letting her face, her body, be consumed by a massive blush. Possibly the largest blush to ever happen in the history of... everything.

 

Clearly, as soon as could be arranged, the two of them would need to have a proper talk. Not just a quiet word when someone was around to distract their children, but a proper talk -- as in someone took the girls for the day, or night, and they sat down with 'do not disturb' orders and figure things out and talk things out and figure out where to go from where they were now.

 

But first, Bella had a mountain to move into, a sort of sister-in-law to meet, a brand new set of people to deal with and children that would need help acclimatizing to their new environment. A heady, challenging list to start with, but Bella had crossed middle earth and made it back home, she had faced down half the Shire to get her things back. Not to mention she had more than once faced down orcs and goblins and verbally dueled with a dragon for her friends and loved ones. She had won a fraught game of riddles and had worked to conquer her own demons, was working on that still, but she was getting there. Point being she had had help with much, had done just as much on her own, but Bella could handle what the future threw at her. In point of fact, she felt more than up to the challenge. Though she certainly would admit to feeling a little bit of intimidation as they all mounted their ponies and horses and she caught sight of the mountain over the rooftops of Dale.

  
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby's Breath -- everlasting love  
> Cinquefoil -- beloved daughter  
> Cosmos -- joy in love and life  
> Edelweiss -- Noble courage  
> Gentian -- intrinsic worth
> 
> And, thus, we have come to the end! Thank you to all who've read this and left coments and/or kudos.

**Author's Note:**

> lalukh kâmnul satbu -- stupid dirt pile
> 
> A created phrase of mine in which I pictured Bella just grasping for words she knew in Khuzdul to call Dwalin something rude. The phrase broken down:  
> \- lalukh: stupidities of  
> \- kâmnul: dirty or earthy / earth / dirt / soil (one amount) (Anc.)-like / from (the) earth / dirt / soil (several amounts) (Anc.)  
> \- satbu: pile (heap)


End file.
